Full text of "History of Rutland County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers"

974.301 ' '* H 

R93s ■ 

1136133 



eENEALOGY COLLECTION 



1833 01092 5342 



GENEALOGY 

974,301 

R93S 



HISTORY 



RUT LAN D COUNTY 

VERMONT 



WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 
OF SOME OF ITS PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS 



EDITED BY 

H. P. SMITH AND W. S. RANN 



SYRACUSE. N. Y. 

D. MASON & CO., PUBLISHERS 

1886 



D. MASON A CO., 

BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS, 

63 WEST WATEK ST., 

SYRACUSE, N. Y. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



113G133 

WHILE it may seem to the uninitiated a taslt involving but little difficulty 
to prepare for publication a work no more comprehensive in character 
than this volume, and containing merely the history of a single county, still it 
is not out of place here to assure all such readers that the work is one demand- 
ing a vast amount of labor and research, watchful care, untiring patience and 
fair discrimination. This need not be said to any person who has had experi- 
ence in similar work. In attempting the production of a creditable history of 
Rutland county the publishers and the editor did not underestimate the diffi- 
culties of their task, and came to it fully imbued with a clear idea of its mag- 
nitude and determination to execute it in such a manner that it should receive 
the general commendation of all into whose hands it should fall. It is believed 
that this purpose has been substantially carried out, and that, while a perfect 
historical work has never yet been published, this one will be found to contain 
so few imperfections that the most critical readers will be satisfied. 

It is a part of the plans of the publishers in the production of county his- 
tories to secure, as far as possible, local assistance, either as writers, or in the 
revision of all manuscripts; the consequence being that the work bears a local 
character which could not otherwise be secured, and, moreover, comes from 
the press far more complete and perfect than could possibly be the case were 
it entrusted wholly to the efforts of comparative strangers to the locality in 
hand. In carrying out this plan in this county the editor has been tendered 
such generous co-operation and assistance of various kinds that to merel}' men- 
tion all who have thus aided is impossible; the satisfaction of having assisted 
in the production of a commendable public enterprise must be their present 
^ 9 



Introduction. 



reward. But there are some who have given so generously of their labor and 
time towards the consummation of this work, that to leave them unmentioned 
would be simple injustice. Among these should be mentioned the Hon. 
Henr}' Clark, of Rutland, for editorial assistance in the work, and the 
writing of a portion of the general history ; the Hon. Barnes Frisbie, of 
Poultney, who generously contributed two important chapters to the volume 
and assisted the editor in various other directions ; Mr. George J. Wardwell, 
for his very able chapter on the marble industry of the county; Mr. J. J. R. 
Randall, for contributing an account of the schools of Rutland ; H. B. Spaf- 
ford, for his history of the town of Clarendon ; Dr. Currier, and other physi- 
cians of the county, for material aid in the preparation of the chapter on the 
medical profession ; H. H. Smith, for valuable assistance to the editor in com- 
pleting the chapter devoted to Free Masonry ; and the entire press and clergy 
of the county, town clerks and other officials, for generous aid in various ways. 
To all these and to so many others that it is impossible to mention them in de- 
tail, the gratitude of editor, publishers and readers is alike due. 

With this word of introduction the work is commended to its readers. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
SUMMARY OF EARLY HISTORY. 
The Office of History — The Pioneers of New England — Discovery of the Territory of Rut- 
land County — The Five Powers — County Formation — A Dark Period — Vermont's 
Policy — Annexation of Territory — Original Names of Rutland County Towns — 
Early Statistics — Military Posts — The First County Seat — County Boundaries and 
Area — Towns of the County — Statistics — Territorial Right of the Indians — Native 
Occupation — Causes of Delay in Settlement — Tide of Emigration — Settlements — 
The French and English War — Vermont Charters — Date of Settlement of Rutland 
County Towns — " Pitching " Before Purchasing — Pioneer Characteristics — The Land 
Claimants— .Ethan Allen's Resolute Stand — Sympathy of the New Hampshire Grants 
Settlers and New York — General Early Condition of the County — Purpose of this 
Work 

CHAPTER n. 
NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS. 
General Character of the Surface of the Country — Geological Features — Description of 
"Sea Beaches," or Terraces, and their Location — Marine Fossils Discovered in the 
County — Unstratified Rocks — Other Interesting Deposits — List of Mineral Deposits 
in the County and their Location — The Marble Deposit — Clays and Pigments — Iron 
Ores — Copperas — Topography — Description of Prominent Mountains — Streams of 
the County — Mineral Springs — Lakes of the County. 

CHAPTER ;ni. 

THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

Indian Occupation — Tlie Iroquois and Abenakis — Claims of the Indians to Lands — Evi- 
dences of Iroquois Occupation — Rutland County Before the Revolution — First Re- 
cords of Exploration — Cross and Melvin's Expeditions — Vermont Debatable Ground 
in the French War — Military Roads — The Road from Charlestown, N. H., to Crown 
Point — Elias Hall's Statement. 

CHAPTER IV. 
THE NEW YORK CONTROVERSY. 
The Grounds of the Controversy — Issue of Conflicting Patents — Schedule of Patents and 
Date of Issue — Difficulties Engendered in Attempts to Eject Settlers — A MiUtary Or- 
ganization under Ethan Allen — Lydius's Claim and Grants under It — The First Ar- 
rest and Trial — Other Incidents — Benjamin Hough's Offense and Punishment — Proc- 
lamations and Counter- Proclamations — The Controversy Quieted by the Opening of 
the Revolutionary Struggle. » 



55 



CHAPTER V. 
THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA. 
Inherent Patriotism of the People — Prepared for the First Gall — Capture of Ticonderoga 

— Different Sentiments Existing Among and Actuating the Inhabitants — Effect of 
the approach of Burgoyne's Army — Mercilessness Shown to Tories — Results in Ver- 
mont of Burgoyne's Surrender — Faithfulness of Vermonters to the Cause of Patriot- 
ism. 

CHAPTER VI. 
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON. 

Effects of the Battle — Condition of the People Immediately Preceding the Affair — Colo- 
nel Warner's Appeal to the Vermont Convention — General St, Clair's Appreciation — 
Effects of the Abandonment of Ticonderoga — The Retreat — The Attack — Allen's 
Detailed Description of the Battle — Incidents. 58 

CHAPTER Vn. 
COUNTY ORGANIZATION — WAR OF 1812. 
Vermont's Record in the Revolution — Bennington County and its Extent — Formation of 
Rutland County — First County Officers — Addison County Taken from Rutland — 
Courts — War of 1812 — Vermont's Active Measures — Minority Opposition — The War 
Productive of Internal Dissensions in Rutland County — Hearty Response to Call for 
Men at the Battle of Plattsburg — Peace and Prosperity. 65 

CHAPTER Vni. 
SOCIAL HISTORY. 
Philosophy of Social History — Natural Desire of Humanity for Association — Social Inter- 
course in its Early Development — Real Social Character of " the Good Old Times," as 
Compared with Present Customs — The Old Fire-Place — Corn Huskings — Amuse- 
ments Therewith Connected — " Kitchen Digs " — Other Amusements. 69 

CHAPTER IX. 
RUTLAND COUNTY IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 
Patriotism of Vei-mont — Honorable Services of the Troops — Action at the First Call for 
Volunteers — Company C (Rutland Light Guards) of the First Regiment — Its Re- 
Enlistment in the Twelfth Regiment — Career of the Regiment — The Fifth and Elev- 
enth Regiments, Vermont Brigade — Career of the Brigade — The Seventh Regiment — 
The Tenth Regiment and its Career — The Ninth Regiment — First Regiment Vermont 
Sharpshooters — Career of Company F, First Vermont Cavalry — Nine-Months Vol- 
unteers — The Twelfth and Fourteenth Regiments — Second Battery Light Artillery — 

— Roster of Officers from Rutland County. 75 

CHAPTER X. 
CIVIL LIST, COUNTY BUILDINGS, SOCIETIES, ETC. 
Supreme Court Judges — County Court Judges — State's Attorneys — Clerks of County 
Court — Sheriffs of the County — Judges and Registers of Probate — Senators from 
Rutland County — Public Buildings — The Post-Offioe Building— The Town Hall — 
The High School Building— Court-House and Jail — The House of Correction— Rut- 
land County Historical Society — Agricultural Society. 140 



Contents. 



CHAPTER XI. 

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 
The First Internal Improvements — Laying out of Roads — The Old Military Road and Other 
Highways — Old Stage Lines — Effects of the Early Lack of Rapid Transportation — 
The Champlain Canal and its Influence— Other Navigation Projects — The Railroad 
Era — The Rutland and Whitehall Railroad and Bank — The First Railroad — The Ver- 
mont and Canada Railroad Company — The Central Vermont Railroad Company — 
Bennington and Rutland Railroad — The Delaware and Hudson Coal Company's Line 

— Rutland and Whitehall Railroad — Great Changes. 154 

CHAPTER Xn. 

INDUSTRIES OF RUTLAND COUNTY. 

Eflects of Industries-on Civilization — Earhest Industries and Tools — Characteristics of 
the Pioneers — Clearing of Forests — The Food Supply — Early Agriculture — Mistakes 
of Early Farmers — Introduction of Improved Farm Tools — Sheep Husbandry — Im- 
ported Stock and its Improvement — Prominent Breeders of the County — Cattle 
Raising — Horses and their Improvement — Early Manufactures — Causes of Decline 

— Present Activity of Manufactures, 162 

CHAPTER XHI. 

MARBLE AND SLATE IN RUTLAND COUNTY. 

Geographical Position — Geological Age — Mountains — Lakes and Ponds — Geographical 
Order of Rocks — Rock Formation — Ice Period and Glacial Theory — Fossils — Min- 
erals — Economic Minerals — Early Quarries and Mills — Analyses of Marbles — Com- 
parative Strength of Marbles — Chronological List of Marble Quarries — Develop- 
ment of Machinery — Slate Quarries — Chronological List of Slate Quarries — Iron — 
Clays. 171 

CHAPTER XIV. 
RUTLAND COUNTY EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS. 
Character of Early Settlers in Vermont — Their Reliance Upon the Church and The School- 
House — Plymouth Colony Act Relative to Education — Further School Legislation — 
Early County, or Grammar Schools — Rutland County Board of Trustees — Academic 
History — Rutland County Academy — Brandon Academy — West Rutland Acad- 
emy — Poultney Female Academy — Primary Schools — Provisions for their Support 

— -The Pioneer School System and School-Houses — School Improvements — Normal 
Schools — Graded and Union Schools — Present School Conditions. 201 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE PRESS OF RUTLAND COUNTY. 
The Early Press — First Paper in Rutland County — Sketch of its Proprietor — The Second 
Paper — The Rutland Herald — Sketches of Matthew Lyon, Judge Samuel WiUiams 
and^ Dr. Samuel Williams — Succeeding Proprietors of the Herald — The First Daily 
Paper in the County — The Rural Magazine — Other Rutland Journals — Newspapers 
of Fairhaven — Poultney Journals — Castleton Journalism — Brandon Newspapers — 
Danby and Wallingford Journals. 213 



14 Contents. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

MEDICAL SOCIETIES AND THE PROFESSION. 
The Castleton Medical College — Organization, Members of Corporation, Officers, etc. — 
P'irst Medical Society — County Medical Societies — The Present Society and its Offi- 
cers — Castleton Medical Society — Castleton Medical and Surgical Clinic — Society 
of Alumni of Castleton Medical College — The Rutland Dispensary — Biographic 
Memoranda in the Various Towns — Dr. James Porter — Dr. Lorenzo Sheldon — Dr. 
Ezekiel Porter — Dr. James B. Porter — Dr. Cyrus Porter — Dr. Hannibal Porter — 
Dr. James Ross — Deceased Physicians of the various Towns outside of Rutland. 235 

CHAPTER XVn. 

THE COURTS AND THE BENCH AND BAR OF RUTLAND COUNTY. 

Absence of Courts in Early Years — The Old Superior Court — First Judges — The First 

Docket — The Old Court Records — Jurisdiction of the First Supreme Court — The 

First County Court — Its Jurisdiction — Subsequent Changes — Probate Courts — 

Justices of the Peace and their Powers — The Records — An early Rule of the Court 

— Whipping Posts — An Incident -Early PubUc House Licenses — Old Warrants, 
Complaints, etc — De.scription of a Court Scene in Rutland — The County Bar. 255 

CHAPTER XVin. 
SECRET SOCIETIES. 
Early Masonic Lodges — Organization of the G-rand Lodge of Vermont — Sketches of the 
Grand Masters — Prominent Rutland County Masons -^Elective Officers of the Grand 
Lodge from its Organization to the Present — History of Center Lodge — Its Reor- 
ganization and Officers — Rutland Lodge No. 79 — Hiram Lodge No. 101 — Royal 
Arch Masons — Lodges in the Various Towns — Odd Fellowship in Rutland County 

— History of the First Lodge — Grand Array of the Republic. 284 

CHAPTER XIX. 

History of the Town of Rutland 302 

CHAPTER XX. 

History of the Town of Benson 454 

CHAPTER XXI. 

History of the Town of Brandon 473 

CHAPTER XXII. 
History ot the Town of Castleton 516 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

History of tlie Town of Cliittenden 547 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

History of the Town of Clarendon 554 

CHAPTER XXV. 
History of the Town of Danl.y 575 



Contents. 15 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

History of the Town of Fairhaven 591 

CHAPTER XXVn. 

History of tlie Town of Hubbardton G16 

CHAPTER XXVni. 

History of the Town of Ira 6.30 

CHAPTER XXIX, 

History of tlie Town of Mendou 635 

CHAPTER XXX. 

History of tlie Town of Middletown 641 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

History of the Town of Mount Holly 673 

CHAPTER XXXII. 
History of the Town of Mount Tabor 692 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

History of tlie Town of Pawlet 697 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

History of tlie Town of Pittsfteld 719 

CHAPTER XXXV. 
History of the Town of Pittsford 726 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

History of the Town of Poultney 766 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 
History of the Town of Sherburne 795 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

History of the Town of Shrewsbury 802 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

History of the Town of Sudbury 812 

CHAPTER XL. 

History of the Town of Tinmoutli 819 

CHAPTER XLI. 

History of the Town of WaUingford 831 

CHAPTER XLII. 

History of tlie Town of Wells 848 

CHAPTER XLIII. 
History of the Town of Westhaven 859 

CHAPTER XLIV. 

Biosraphioal .' 868 



Contents. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Adams, Joseph, facing 608 

Allen, Colonel Alonson, facing 592 

Allen, Hon. Ira C, facing 612 

Baird, Hiram, facing 872 

Baxter, General Horace Henry, . . . .facing 870 

Benson, Porter, facing 560 

Bowman, John P., between 810-811 

Bowman, Mrs. Jane E., between 810-811 

Bowman, Ella H., between 810-811 

Bresee, Albert, facing 620 

Brigham, Charles W., M. D., facing 874 

Cain, John, facing 222 

Clark, Henry, facing 224- 

Coat of Arms, Neshobe Island, 13 

Cook, Nelson W., facing 676 

Dikeman, George W., between 886-887 

Dikeman, Mrs. George W., . .between 886-887 

Dikeman, M. M between 884-885 

Dikeman, Mrs. M. M., between 884-885 

Dunn, James C, facing 438 

Ellis, Zenas C, facing 600 

Everts, Martin G., facing 146 

Fort Warren, Plan of, 527 

Francisco. M. J., facmg 412 

Fri.sbie, Hon. Barnes, facing 264 

Gilson, E. P., facing 184 

Gray, A. W., between 670-671 

Gray, Leonidas, between 670-671 

Greeno, B. Pi., facing 320 



Hanger, Ryland, 

Holt^ Rufus, 

Horton, Warren, 

Huglies, Hugh G., 

Kellogg, Newton, 

Kingsley, Harrison, 

Kingsley, General Levi G.,. 

Landon, W. C, 

Lothrop, Henry F., 

Munson, Israel, 

Munson. Mr.«. Lsrael, 

Paov. lb 
Pr.mt. II 
Pro.h.i, 



P.. 



ng 
ag 
ng 

.between 840- 
, between 840- 

facing 

facing 

facina: 



Rediiigton L. W., facing 

Roberts, Colonel George T., facing 

Rogers, Asa J., facing 

Royce, George E., facing 

Rumsey, C. S., facing 

Sheldon, Charles, facing 

Sheldon, John A., facing 

Slason, C. H., facing 

Smith, Warren H., facing 

State House, View of Old, facing 

Strong, George W., facing 

Tarbell, Mar.shall, facing 

Taylor, Daniel W., . . . ; facing 

Wardwell, George J., facing 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



Adams, Joseph, 868 

AIIku, Colonel Alonson, 881 

Allen, Hon. Ira C, 869 

Bau-d, Hiram, «72 

Baxter, General Horace Henry, 870 

Benson, Porter, 873 

Bowman, John P., 875 

Bresoc. Albert 899 

Bi-igham, Charles W.. M. D., 874 

Cain. John 879 

Clark. Hon. Merritt, 926 

Cook, Nelson W., . . '. 876 

Carrier, John McNab, M. D., 878 

Dikeman, George W. and wife, 885 

Dikeman, M. M. and wife, 8^.", 

Duim, James C, 8sil 

Ellis. Z.-iias C, ss- 

Evcrt.s Martin G., ^S'< 

Francisro. M. J 921 

Frisbu-, Hon. Barnes, 889 

Gilson, Edson P., 890 

Grav, Albert W 891 

Gray, Leonidas, .' 893 

Greeno, Benjamin R., 894 

Hanger, Ryiand 895 



Holt, Rutus 896 

Horton, Warren, 897 

Hughes,- Hugh G., 898 

Kellogg, Newton, 900 

Kingsley, Harrison, 901 

Kingsley, General Levi G., 925 

Landon, W. C, 903 

Lothrop, Henry F., 902 

Munson, Israel, 904 

Page, Hon. John B., 922 

Prout, Hon. John, 905 

Proctor, Hon. Redfield, 904 

Redington, L. W., 907 

Roberts, Colonel George T., 905 

n.i- !-. Asa J, 910 

l:-\<- . i;.di--e E., 908 

l: .11 < ■. , I'hauncey S., 907 

Shrl.lnll. ('l,;„-le,«, 912 

Sheldon, John A 913 

Slason. Charles H., 910 

Smith, Warren H., 914 

Stron ';.,.:, \V 911 

Taii.: \' 927 

T:y\i ' I',: . : w 916 

WanlA. ,, I..O,,, .1,,.: 916 



HISTORY 



RUTLAND COUNTY. 



CHAPTER I. 

SUMMARY OF EARLY HISTORY. 



The Office of History — The Tioneers of New England — Discovery of the Territory of Rutland 
County — The Five Powers — County Formation — A Dark Period — Vermont's Policy — Annexation 
of Territory — Original Names of Rutland County Towns — Early Statistics — Military Posts — The 
First County Seat— County Boundaries and Area — Towns of the County — Statistics — Territorial 
Right of the Indians — Native Occupation — Causes t)f Delay in Settlement — Tide of Emigration — 
Settlements — The French and English War — Vermont Charters — Date of Settlement of Rutland 
County Towns — "Pitching" Before Purchasing — Pioneer Characteristics — The Land Claimants — 
Ethan Allen's Resolute Stand — Sympathy of the New Hampshire Grants Settlers and New York — 
General Early Condition of the County— Purpose of this Work. 

TO trace the rise and progress of communities ; to follow the fortunes and 
elucidate the character of those who have laid the foundations of com- 
monwealths ; to preserve from decay the memory of the men who have trans- 
ferred from one generation to another the arts of peace, the blessings of liberty 
and the consolations of religion — these belong to the province of history. 
" It is not the least debt," says Sir Walter Raleigh, " we owe unto history, 
that it has made us acquainted with our dead ancestors and delivered us their 
memory and fame. Besides, we gather out of it a policy no less wise than 
eternal, by the comparison and application of other men's fore- passed mercies 
with our own like errors and ill-deservings." 

The histor)' of our ancestors is indeed of inestimable value to their de- 
scendants, though by it our " ill-deservings " may perhaps stand out in more 
prominent relief against their fore-passed mercies. But their example remains 
for all time to come. Simple, unpretending, high-minded and pure of pur- 
pose, the early men of New England had great objects in view. 

- 17 



i8 History of Rutland County. 

The story of our origin, as the people of New England, is not obscure. 
It is not traced back to the dim uncertainty of tradition and fable. The foun- 
dations of society and the origin of institutions, both civil and religious, may 
be correctly ascertained. The first settlements of New England and Vermont 
came into being, as communities, with all the attributes of organized society 
and all the restraints of good government and subordination. If any feeling 
of which vanity forms a prominent part ever attains the dignity of a virtue, it 
is that which is felt in an honorable history. It is a prescriptive right to recite 
deeds and heroic acts of our ancestors. It is a high pleasure and a grateful 
duty. Whatever is noble, whatever is heroic, is only so by comparison, for 
the very terms themselves signify something above, beyond, higher than the 
ordinary measures of human thoughts and action. In love of country, in de- 
termined opposition to tyranny and oppression, in daring adventures, in forti- 
tude under sufferings and steadiness of purpose, the early settlers of Rutland 
county will not suffer in comparison with any pioneers of New England. Since 
the peculiar circumstances in which they were placed no longer exist to call 
into exercise like virtues in their descendants, nothing else will so effectually 
stay the possibility of degeneracy in the latter as the remembrance and con- 
templation of the fathers' elevated patriotism and devotion to the service of 
the State. 

The discovery of Lake Champlain by Samuel Champlain on the 4th of July, 
1609, was without question the discovery of the territory now comprised in 
Rutland county. The county has been subject to the nominal jurisdiction of 
five difterent powers. The Indians; the French, by right of discovery in 
1609 ; the English, by right of conquest and colonization ; Vermont, as an in- 
dependent republic, from her declaration of independence January 15, 1777, 
to her admission into the Union, March 4, 1 791 ; and the United States for 
the last ninety-four years. Rutland county has been a portion, also, of five 
different counties. In 1683 Albany county was first founded, its southern 
boundary Sawyer's Creek, west of the Hudson, and Roeloffe Jansen's Creek 
on the east. These creeks are in about the same latitude as the northern line 
of the State of Connecticut, and Albany county included all Massachusetts 
west of the Connecticut River and the whole of Vermont. In 1772 Albany 
county was divided into three counties, one of which, Charlotte, extended over 
the territory of which this work treats. The early settlers, in their deeds, de- 
scribed themselves as being of the county of Albany, or Charlotte, according 
to dates. In March, 1778, at the first organization of the State government 
of Vermont, the State was divided into two counties, Unity on the east side, 
and Bennington on the west side of the Green Mountains. In 1780 the name 
of Washington was given to the territory north of the present Bennington 
county and west of the mountains ; but this act of the General Assembly is 
reported to have been written only on a slip of paper and never recorded. 



Summary of Early History. 



On the 13th of February, 1781, Rutland county was incorporated, embracing 
the same territory as Washington county, its first officers to be elected March 
4, 1 78 1. During the year 1781 Rutland county extended not only from Ben- 
nington county to Canada, but also from the Green Mountains to the Hudson 
River, including Lakes George and Champlain. The year of the organization 
of the county, the commencement, was darkest in her history. She was 
threatened with a sad fate by the neighboring commonwealths, with the inva- 
sion of a well-armed British army, more in numbers than her manhood popu- 
lation. Every continental soldier had been withdrawn ; New York had with- 
drawn her last garrison. She had been solicited by British officers with bribes 
to return to her allegiance to the crown. A letter by Lord Germain had been 
published proclaiming that fact. Vermont at that period adopted a policy of 
her own, which made futile the action of the British army and protected her 
territory. Then it was she twofolded her territory, annexing thirty-five towns 
from New Hampshire. Her Legislature met in that State. She annexed all 
of New York farther north than Massachusetts, and east of the Hudson River 
and east of a line due north from the source of the Hudson River to Canada. 
Several towns in New York and New Hampshire were taxed in Vermont and 
were represented in her Legislature. At that time the towns of Brandon, 
West Haven, Middletown, Mount Tabor, Mount Holly, Mendon, Sherburne 
had not an organization under their present titles. Mount Tabor was " Har- 
wich ; " Mendon was " Medway ; " Sherburne was " Killington ; " Chittenden 
was " Philadelphia." Several of the towns were not inhabited. The popula- 
tion of the county was a little over four thousand, and the appraisal of prop- 
erty for taxation was considerably less than one hundred thousand dollars. 
There were several military forts scattered about the count}', with a few hun- 
dred troops. Tinmouth was selected as the county seat and remained so un- 
til 1784, when the seat was removed to Rutland ; the courts where held in the 
bar-room of a log hotel. Li the formation of Addison county in 1785, Rut- 
land county was brought to its present limits, with the exception of the town 
of Orwell, which was annexed to Addison county November 13, 1847. 

The county lies between 43° 18' and 40° 54' north latitude, and between 
3° 41' and 4° 18' longitude, east from Washington. Following are the pres- 
ent boundaries of the county: north by Addison county; east by Windsor; 
south by Bennington, and west by Washington county, N. Y., and Lake Cham- 
plain. It is forty miles long and thirty wide. The area is nine hundred square 
miles. It has twenty-five towns, one more than any other county in the 
State. The towns are Benson, Brandon, Castleton, Chittenden, Clarendon, 
Danby, Fair Haven, Hubbardton, Ira, Mendon, Middletown, Mount Holly, 
Mount Tabor, Pawlet, Pittsfield, Pittsford, Poultney, Rutland, Sherburne, 
Shrewsbury, Sudbury, Tinmouth, Wallingford, Wells and West Haven. Thir- 
teen towns in the county have an aggregate of less than twelve hundred in- 



History of Rutland County. 



habitants. Rutland has over fifteen thousand inhabitants. The population of 
the county falls little short of forty-five thousand, more than seven thousand 
greater than that of any other county in the State. The latest fixed valuation 
was over twelve million dollars, nearly two millions larger than anj' other 
county in Vermont. 

The territory of Rutland was, beyond question, subject to the nominal 
jurisdiction of the Indians, by priority right of discovery. At the time when 
the French and English began to effect lodgments in Canada and the north- 
ern part of the present United States, they found the country in possession of 
two distinct and wide-spread native peoples, speaking two different languages, 
which were heard in the different dialects of the tribal divisions. These two 
peoples, or nations, were the Abenakis, a name signifying "the people of the 
east," or, " those first seeing the light of the rising sun," and the great west- 
ern confederacy of the Five Nations (later the Six Nations), to whom the 
French gave the general name of the Iroquois. The Abenakis, under their 
various tribal names and organizations, were found in possession and un- 
doubted ownership of the present New England States bordering on the At- 
lantic. It is not the purpose to give a connected history of this occupation, 
further than this general conclusion deduced from an investigation: it is be- 
yond dispute at this period, that the Iroquois came into possession of the ter- 
ritory of which we are writing some short time previous to 1540, and held it 
and lived on it until the settlement of the State by our ancestors between 
1740 and 1760. 

During the colonial and Indian wars, the territory of Rutland county was 
a thoroughfare through which most of the hostile expeditions proceeded. The 
situation was such that it was exposed to the depredations of both English and 
French and was at times the lurking place of their Indian allies. From this 
cause settlements were regarded dangerous and impracticable, and it was not 
until after the complete conquest of Canada by the English in 1760 that any 
considerable settlements were made. Several points had howe\-er been previ- 
ously occupied as military posts. Previous to that time the whole territorj' 
comprising the present count)' was substantially an uncultivated wilderness. 
The men of New England who had participated largely in the wars had fre- 
quently passed over it in their expeditions against the French and Indians, and 
becoming well acquainted with its soil and general aspects, had imbibed a 
strong desire to settle upon it ; and no sooner was the territory opened for safe 
occupation, by the favorable results of war, than the tide of emigration set 
strongly toward it from the New England provinces. The settlement of towns 
in a wilderness region like that within the then limits of Rutland county is influ- 
enced in some measure by laws similar to those which govern the spread of 
epidemics. The proxiniit_\- v{ neighbors and distance to other settlements are 
weighty considerations with him wIkj seeks a home where " the war whoop of 



Summary of Early History. 



the savage might wake the sleep of the cradle," and where great care and vigi- 
lance would be necessary to guard his little flock from destruction by the wild 
beasts of the forest. Hence, the settlements on the west side of the Green 
Mountains, which began at the southern extremity of the State, progressed 
northward from town to town with considerable regularity, in the order of 
time. A similar order of time is noticeable in the issuing of patents, with the 
exception of the town of Bennington, which was chartered in 1749, when 
there occurred an interval of twelve years before any town north of it received 
a patent. 

It was during this interval that the French war broke out (1755), which 
extended in its operations from Canada to the adjoining colonies of New Eng- 
land, New York and Pennsylvania and which finally terminated by the bloody 
battle on the Plains of Abraham, near Quebec, September 13, 1760, in which 
the British arms were victorious. The French, disheartened by their losses, 
were thrown into great confusion, and on the 13th of September the remainder 
of the troops and the city of Quebec were surrendered into the hands of the 
English. General Amherst, who had previously taken Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point, arrived before Montreal September 8, 1760, which place, with 
the whole province of Canada, was surrendered to the British. 

The event at once attracted attention to the territory of Vermont, the ad- 
joining province, which had been transformed from a hostile to a friendly 
neighbor. Applications for charters of towns were now made in rapid succes- 
sion to Benning Wentworth, the colonial governor of New Hampshire, who 
was disposed to grant them on the most liberal terms; so that the principal 
towns in Rutland county were chartered in 1 76 1. In most of these towns 
there was an interval, however, of several years between the time when the 
patents were granted and the commencement of settlements. By the terms of 
the charters an ear of Indian corn was required to be paid annually by the 
trustees of each town until December, 1772; after which, one shilling procla- 
mation money was to be paid annually for each hundred acres. 

In ten towns of Rutland county, whose charters were granted between the 
26th of August and the 20th of October, 1761, settlements were made at the 
following periods; Pawlet, 1761 ; Clarendon and Rutland, 1768; Castleton 
and Pittsford, 1769; Poultney and Wells, 1771, and Brandon in 1772. In 
similar progression of settlement, the settlements north of this county, with 
very few exceptions, were commenced at a later period. But the settlers who 
came before the Revolutionary War all left immediately after its commence- 
ment, and did not return until it was over. While women and children, how- 
ever, were thus compelled to abandon their new homes, and return for a sea- 
son to whence they came, the men generally joined the army, substituting 
for a time the weapons of war for the implements of husbandry. 

" Pitching " before purchasing was the common practice of the settlers for 



HisTcjRY OF Rutland County. 



several years. Indeed, the purchase money, or consideration, was at that early 
day of such small amount as to deter no one from a settlement who had made 
up his mind to seek a home in the wilderness. Beside, the purchase of a pro- 
prietor's right, or any number of acres on such a right, gave to the purchaser 
no advantage over any one else who had not purchased of selecting any par- 
ticular lot until surveys were authorized to be made. It will be observed from 
this statement of the customs obtaining in the early settlements of this part of 
Vermont that it was the policy of the proprietors to encourage settlements by 
the most liberal means. The general rule observed in all the towns was " that 
such man shall hold his lot by 'pitching' until he can have opportunity to sur- 
vey it." Although many " pitches " were made before title could be obtained 
to any particular U"act, or lot, the settlers had no fears of being ousted or dis- 
turbed in their possessions, as the whole country was open to newcomers, with 
the exception of a few spots here and there, which were indicated by the 
smoke issuing from log houses or the burning of a fallow. But few, if any, of 
the original proprietors made settlements. 

Such, then, was the mode in which the pioneer settlers and those who came 
at a later period selected their homesteads, and this was the condition of affairs 
at the time of the first actual settlement of the territory covered by Rutland 
county. A hundred and twenty-five years had elapsed since the Puritan first 
placed his foot on Plymouth Rock, and the English colonies had extended 
along the Atlantic from Maine to Georgia. More than a century had passed 
since the English had settled at Springfield on the Connecticut, the French at 
Montreal, the Dutch at Albany, and up to this time no white man had made 
his cabin in this local solitude. This was rather the hunting-ground of the 
fierce Pequods of the South, the warlike Iroquois of the West, and the blood- 
thirsty Algonquins and Coosucks of the Northwest. The bloody battles that 
may have been fought upon this soil between these warlike and hostile tribes 
can never be known, as no pen has ever described them. The thunder of the 
cannon from Forts William Henry, Crown Point and Ticonderoga announced 
that armies had met in deadly hostilit}- in the solitude of the wilderness. The 
hunter-soldier, with his knapsack on his shoulder, had passed through the val- 
leys and over the hills on the old Crown Point road to the fields of conquest, 
looking upon the fertile lands that bordered the Otter Creek ; yet no settle- 
ment was made, for it remained disputed and dangerous ground until Wolfe 
scaled the rock at Quebec. 

The early settlers brought their families and effects with them, mainly in 
midwinter, upon sleds drawn by their horses and oxen. They did not settle 
in neighborhoods, but frequently miles intervened between their cabins. The 
pioneers were energetic men, equal to the task before them ; of athletic frames 
and rugged constitutions, they faced the dangers and hardships of a settlement 
in the wilderness and gained for themselves a home. 



Summary of Early History. 23 

Soon after the War of the Revolution had ended, and the settlers had re- 
turned to their homes, flattering themselves that they might enjoy in peace and 
safety their possessions, at least what was left to them, and which they had 
secured only through the severest struggles and hardships, they were annoyed 
by a party of land claimants, who were nearly as destructive of the peace and 
happiness of the settlers as were the Indians and Tories in the time of war. 
Ejectments were served upon the settlers without discrimination ; for years 
they were kept in an unsettled, agitated state, in embarrassment and suspense, 
spending their time and money examining titles, gathering evidence, employ- 
ing attorneys, attending upon the courts, with the consequent costs, surround- 
ing their claims with boundaries, and even often purchasing new titles to land 
which they had supposed their own ; while all their earnings were demanded 
in making improvements and the support of their families. The embarrass- 
ments, losses and distresses of the first settlers and the confusion and contest 
of claims resulted in many selling out and abandoning their landed possessions 
and removing to other sections, mainly to the northward and to the more quiet 
possessions along the shores of Lake Champlain. The troubles in New York 
were another source of hindrance to settlements. As there were double claim- 
ants to the title to the soil in many towns, buyers hesitated to invest, and the 
progress of settlement was consequently slow, until Burgoyne was defeated at 
Saratoga, and what was left of the British forces were driven south of the Hud- 
son. This, together with the resolute stand taken by Ethan Allen in with- 
standing the claims of New York, encouraged settlements, and the towns rap- 
idly filled up. Many Revolutionary soldiers who, in the course of their service, 
had visited this section of country, were pleased with it, and on their release 
from the army became permanent settlers. 

The settlers generally on the New Hampshire Grants sympathized with 
each other in the controversy with New York. They banded together, con- 
stituted committees of safety and prepared to resist with force the execution 
of New York writs of ejectment. When New York officials crossed the border 
to execute legal processes they were seized, and those who would not respect 
the great seal of New Hampshire were stamped with beech seal, impressed from 
the twigs of the woods, on their naked backs. Some of the land owners were 
arrested and sent to the jail at Albany. 

These preliminary observations from the general history of the early settle- 
ment of Rutland county indicate that the period of settlement was one in 
which the elements were surcharged with contention. It was just preceding 
the War of the Revolution. The liberties of the State and nation were at 
stake. The territory was claimed by two rival States, New York and New 
Hampshire, with neither of which were the people willing to unite. The set- 
tlers were, however, equal to the situation. The spirit they exhibited in a 
threefold contest is the spirit which the people have continued to manifest; it 
is the spirit which now burns in the bosoms of their descendants. 



24 History of Rutland County. 

People of this generation cannot have a very adequate idea of the situation 
of the country when Rutland county was organized. There was no means of 
travel but to walk or ride on horseback. There were a few sleighs and sleds, 
which served them well in winter, but there was not a wheel carriage in the 
limits of the county except ox carts or rough lumber wagons, and the condi- 
tion of the roads was such that they could not be driven faster than a man 
could walk. Most of the way the trees were cut down and moved out of the 
path, leaving all the roots, stones and knots to be run over. It was a greater 
task to move a family hither from Connecticut or Rhode Island than it is now 
to move one to the Pacific coast. 

A Puritan element settled Rutland county. From Connecticut, Massachu- 
setts and Rhode Island they came here to seek their fortunes. Their virtues, 
their hardihood and their enterprise is to be recorded, as well as the growth 
and extent of these infant communities. The Christian home now stands where 
the wild beasts laid down a century and a quarter ago. Property is power and 
property is the daughter of industry. The people own the land in fee simple 
and till it with free labor. The county is made up of a cordon of similar 
towns. P2ach town is a little republic by itself and the most perfect republic 
in the world. Public sentiment settles everything, and these sister towns act 
and react upon each other " as diamonds are polished by diamonds." 

The purpose of this work is to seek out buried facts illustrating olden times; 
call up some forgotten life that is worthy of remembrance; identify places 
associated with important and stirring events ; tell the story of some venerable 
house that has sheltered many generations and been the witness of a hundred 
years of human happiness and human sorrows; gather up the traditions which 
the old people still hold in memory, but which will soon be swept into oblivion 
unless caught from their trembling lips and put into permanent records, and to 
thus make a history worthy of a county that has done so much for the progress 
and glorv of the commonwealth. 



CHAPTER II. 

N.\TUR.\L CH.AR.\CTERISTICS. 

General Character of the Surface of the Country — Geological Features — Description of "Sea 
Beaches," or Terraces, and their Location — Marine Fossils Discovered in the County — Unstratified 
Rocks — Other Interesting Deposits — List of Mineral Deposits in the County and their Location — 
The Marble Deposit — Clays and Pigments — Iron Ores — Copperas — Topography — Description of 
Prominent Mountains — Streams of the County — Mineral Springs — Lakes of the County. 

IN advance of presenting the colonial history of the county, it is the purpose 
of this chapter to give in brief the topography of Rutland county, its geo- 
logical formation, its rivers, lakes, mountains, mineral resources and general 
natural characteristics, with sketches of interesting phenomena. 



Natural Characteristics. 25 

The face of the county is generally uneven and the eastern portion moun- 
tainous. The range of the Green Mountains, which give name to Vermont, 
extends through the county from south to north and rises in several places to 
a height exceeding four thousand feet above the level of the sea ; but they are 
I not generally precipitous, and are most of them covered with timber to their 
summits. The loftiest of these summits are Killington, Shrewsbury and Pico. 
Among these mountains arise a number of streams which follow their declivi- 
ties into the Connecticut River on the east, or Lake Champlain on the west. 
The general surface of the county is not unlike that of the main portion of 
western Vermont, while its natural capacities and resources far excel those of 
many other sections. The first range of townships bordering upon Lake 
Champlain and the State of New York is pleasantly diversified with ridges and 
valleys, having few elevations of considerable height worthy of notice. These 
isolated hills rise usually in spherical form, are easily ascended and from their 
summits afford fine views of the surrounding country; the cultivated fields, 
the flocks and herds, the farm-houses, orchards and groves; the dark forests 
rising upon the mountain side and the mountains themselves, the serrated 
peaks, all combine to form a picture not easily copied by human artist. 

Beyond the first range of townships the country becomes more uneven 
and broken, yet it is valuable either for tillage or pasture, until the base of the 
Green Mountains is reached, which cover the extreme eastern part of the 
county and ascend to nearly the highest point of land in the State. Between 
the spurs of the mountains there are valuable tracts of land for timber and 
pasturage ; far more valuable indeed for the dairy and the raising of neat stock 
than they have generally been reputed. As the ascent to the mountains be- 
gins, the timber begins to gradually diminish in height, and finally an altitude 
is reached where vegetable life does not receive sufficient heat and moisture to 
support it, except here and there a few starved and stunted lichens that find a 
dreary abode in some niche or crevice in the rocks. 

When this section was first visited by the Europeans, it was covered by one 
unbroken forest. The lakes and rivers were shaded by a growth of pine and 
elm, while the uplands were heavily timbered with maple, beech, birch and 
spruce; these largely constitute the timber of to-day, except th pine, which 
is rare, even on the summits of the mountains, which were covered with a per- 
petual verdure of hardy evergreens. In those early days the forests and mar- 
gins of the lakes and streams were well stored with deer, bears, wolves, otter, 
beaver and a variety of other animals, which undoubtedly made this region 
the favorable hunting-ground of the natives; but the pursuit of the chase by 
successive generations has left the woodlands with but a limited quantity of 
game.i 

1 Five years ago an effort was made through the enactment of protecting laws to re-stoclc the 
mountains with deer, which has proved somewhat successful, and they are frequently seen out upon 
the cleared fields on the outskirts of the forests. 



26 History of Rutland County. 

The geological formations as they exist in the county are pecuHar and in 
some regards distinct from those of other sections. To give a full account of 
their characteristics would require far more elaboration of detail than can be 
compressed into a single chapter. The county excels many others in the ag- 
ricultural capabilities of its soil, through the existence of lime in almost all her 
rocks in such a state that natural processes bring it out as needed for vegeta- 
tion This is a characteristic which Providence has hidden in the earth and 
provided for its elimination, creating a great source of wealth to our agricul- 
tural population. Most of the valuable rocks and minerals run lengthwise 
across the country, and are thus made accessible to most of the inhabitants. 
This is the case with .he marbles, the slates and the iron, and others of less 
value. The main mineral resources seem inexhaustible in quantity and are of 
such kinds as will be in perpetual and increasing demand, as the population of 
the county increases. Coming generations will, therefore, excel the present 
in the development of local mineral resources, and constant explorations bring 
to light new facts of much scientific interest. The elucidation of science up to 
this period leaves us the right to presume upon a future general increase of 
knowledge in the geology of Rutland county. For our present purpose, only 
the main features of this topic can be noted. 

Perhaps to the general reader the terraces, or "sea beaches" as thev are 
often called by the scientific geologist, present a subject of the greatest inter- 
est. They are objects of common observation in Rutland county, and remark- 
able for their number, form and symmetry. Though valleys are so common 
in Vermont, the people do not enquire in reference to their formation, nor why 
their sides are lined with the terraces ; but they make practical use of these 
eligible situations furnished by nature, as sites for pleasure grounds, dwellings, 
villages and cemeteries. Many of our towns are cliiefly indebted to these ter- 
races for their beauty. In Rutland county Pawlet, Poultney, Brandon and 
Pittsford, are located along prominent rivers, and the beauty and attractiveness 
of their dwellings and public grounds arise substantially from their terraced 
sites. On Poultney River there are fine terraces for nearly five miles north of 
its junction with Lake Champlain at Whitehall. There are two terraces also 
on the Vermont side in West Haven ; these are composed of clay of blue and 
reddish material and extend some eighteen feet in height above the river in 
terrace form. In the northern part of Fair Haven there is a terrace one hun- 
dred feet high, on the east side of the river. It is at a point where the river 
changed its course in 1783. At the village of Poultney there is a wide plain 
which is bounded by a terrace. Upon Lewis Brook in the north part of the 
town is a terrace more prominent than any other on the river. Hubbardton 
River has three terraces upon its banks in the town of West Haven ; and there 
is a distinct basin of terraces on Castleton River, embracing the villages of 
Castleton and Castleton Corners. At these villages the terraces are broader 



Natural Characteristics. 27 

than those of any other section, thus forming the \illage sites. Occasionally 
a. third terrace is seen upon Castleton River before reaching West Rutlanci, 
where the river has cut through the Taconic range of mountains. In West 
Rutland, near the celebrated marble quarries, this stream runs through a low 
meadow ; there are no other terraces upon it. 

Otter Creek rises in Dorset, flows through Rutland and Addison counties, 
and discharges its waters into Lake Champlain at North Ferrisburgh. The 
lower part of its course is over Champlain clays, where the descent of its bed 
is slight, except an occasional fall over ledges of rocks. The upper part of its 
course is through an undulating country, near the western limit of the quartz for- 
mation and over calcareous rocks, except where it crosses a range of quartz 
rock in Rutland. 

In the northeast part of Danby are well- developed terraces. Just above 
South Wallingford ledges of rocks form the banks of the creek, which may be 
considered the boundary between two basins of terraces. These terraces upon 
both sides of the creek extend from Wallingford to Clarendon village. Be- 
tween East Wallingford and Cuttingsville are large terraces of sand and gravel. 
At Cuttingsville Mill River cuts through a high ridge of rocks, forming a deep 
gorge in plain sight of the Rutland railroad. In the town of Rutland are ter- 
races of more than a mile in width, which are traversed by two railroads. The 
railroad in Rutland village is situated upon a terrace. Upon both sides of East 
Creek near the depot may be seen two terraces which extend to the northeast 
corner of the township. Very fine terraces are found in Mendon, but not equal to 
those in Chittenden and Pittsford. On Furnace Brook, in Pittsford, they are 
well developed ; here is also a curious tower of limestone. About two miles 
north of Pittsford there is a fine basin of terraces ; the scenery in the vicinity 
is quite picturesque. A very distinct beach continues to Brandon, upon which 
the village is situated; this extended terrace, like almost everything in Bran- 
don, is well formed and attractive to the eye. The course of the Otter Creek 
from this point to Lake Champlain is serpentine, a feature due to the loamy 
character of the meadow lands through which it flows. 

The location of these various terraces have been thus given because they 
are constantly attracting more attention, not only from the tourist, but the in- 
habitant who has heretofore little understood their locations. It ma}' be added 
that throughout the State along the principal rivers are numerous terraces, 
presenting a feature of deep interest. 

Marine fossils have been found at Rutland on the Otter Creek five hundred 
feet above the ocean, and on Castleton River four hundred and seventy-five 
feet ; at West Haven, near Whitehall, N. Y., at one hundred feet. It is a re- 
markable fact that in the building of the Rutland railroad in 1848, one of the 
most interesting fossils ever found in New England was brought to light in 
the town of Mount Holly, comprising the remains of an elephant. The rail- 



History of Rutland County. 



road crosses the mountain at this point, at an elevation of one thousand four 
hundred and fifteen feet above the level of the ocean, and the fossilized bones 
of the elephant were found at that height, in a peat bed east of what is now 
called the Summit Station. The basin in which the peat is located appears to- 
have been originally filled with water. A large proportion of the material which 
formed the lower part of the peat consisted of billets of wood about eighteen, 
inches long, which had been cut off at both ends, drawn into the water and di- 
vested of the bark. The peat was fifteen feet deep before the excavation was- 
made for the railroad. In making this excavation the workmen found at the- 
the bottom of the bed, resting upon the gravel which separated the peat from- 
the rock below, a huge tooth. The depth of the peat at this point was eleven' 
feet. Soon afterward one of the tusks was found about eighty feet from the 
location of the tooth. Subsequently the other tusk and several of the bones- 
of the animal were found near the same place. Professor Agassiz, who vis- 
ited the spot, pronounced them to be the bones of an extinct race of elephant. 
They were presented to the Museum of Natural History of the University of 
Vermont, at Burlington, for preservation and for an illustration of the fossil 
geology of the State. The grinder tooth weighed eight pounds, and the 
length of its grinding surface was about eight inches. The tusks were some- 
what decayed and one was badly broken. The most perfect tusk measures- 
about eighty inches in length and its greatest circumferance was twelve inches. 

Other fossils have been discoved in the county, markedly in a cave in Chit- 
tenden, where the bones of small animals have been found, such as are now- 
extinct. 

Unstratified rocks occur at Mount Holly fourteen hundred feet above the- 
ocean, or thirteen hundred feet above Lake Champlain, and there are other 
similar ones on Danby Mountain. At the latter point marble quarries are 
opened at various heights, one as high as fifteen hundred feet above the valley. 
Hematite, manganese, beds of ocher and pipe clay exist in several sections at 
Brandon, Chittenden and Wallingford. Brown iron ore, which is important in 
making steel, is found in Brandon, Chittenden, Pittsford, Tinmouth and Wal- 
lingford. Yellow ocher is found in immense quantities in Brandon. 

Among the novel geological products is one kind of asbestos, or, as it is- 
sometimes called, "mountain leather." It occurs in paper-like masses, lying 
between different portions of a rock, and the fibres are so small and closely 
interlaced that the whole bears the appearance of leather. Another name 
given to what is essentially the same thing is mountain or rock cork, from the- 
fact that its specific gravity is so light that it will float in water. 

Kaolin, or porcelain clay, is found in several places in the county. Trap- 
pean rocks are found nowhere in Vermont except in the form of dikes in the 
towns of Clarendon and Mount Holly. The rock appears to be a greenstone, 
constituting one of those freaks of nature found in all hillv and mountainous- 



Natural Characteristics. 29 

country. The dikes in this county are exceedingly numerous and vary much 
in their composition and character. Some of them consist of well-character- 
ized greenstone ; others consist almost entirely of white or yellowish feldspar. 
The greenstone, or trap dikes, are generally straight and of uniform width, and 
may be frequently traced through a considerable distance. The other class of 
dikes are often crooked in character. In West Rutland is a dike running 
nearly east and west, and another of the same character in Pittsford. There 
are others in Danby and Wallingford ; the latter is the widest greenstone in 
Vermont. There are a few more important dikes, of which detailed descrip- 
tion would be too lengthy for these pages. 

Heretofore in tliis chapter an effort has been made to avoid technical and 
scientific expressions. In giving information, however, of the useful and val- 
uable minerals found in the several towns, it becomes necessary in some in- 
stances to use scientific and unfamiliar names. The following list gives the lo- 
calities of the minerals of value in Rutland county: — 

Brandon. — Hematite, pipe clay, yellow ocher, braunite, marble, plumbago, 
galena, copper pyrites. 

Castleton. — Roofing slate, slate pencils, jasper, manganese ore. 

Chittenden. — Brown iron ore, specular and magnetic iron, galena, iolite. 

Clarendon. — Iron ore, marble and asbestos, or "mountain leather." 

Danby. — Marble, stalactites, galena. 

Fair Haven. — Roofing slate, iron pyrites. 

Mount Holly. — Asbestos, chlorite. 

Pittsford. — Hematite, manganese ores, plumbago, marble. 

Poultney. — Roofing slate, peat. 

Rutland. — Gold, copperas, marble, brown iron ore, pipe clay. 

Sherburne. — Limestone, brown iron ore. 

Shrewsbury. — Magnetic iron, copper pyrites, iron pyrites, smoky and 
milky quartz. 

Sunbury. — Statuary marble. 

Tinmouth. — Hematite, iron pyrites, magnetic iron, marble. 

Wallingford. — Marble, hematite, manganese ores. 

Wells. — Roofing slate. 

West Haven. — Roofing slate. 

This list comprises the more valuable and conmiercial minerals. Galena 
and quartz crystals have, however, been found in Mount Tabor and calcite at 
West Rutland and Danby. Galena is found in several towns of the county. 
A portion of the lead reduced from this ore gives a small quantity of silver. 
Professor Charles B. Adams said of a quantity found at Brandon, which he an- 
alyzed : " It was equal to one-fifth of one percentum, which is four pounds of 
silver to the ton of metal. This quantity will be well worth working, provided 
the lead is abundant. Probablj- one pound of silver in a ton of lead would 



30 History of Rutland County. 

more than repay the cost of extraction, as lead yielding only four ounces to 
the ton is said to be profitably cupelled in Great Britain." 

Quick lime, a valuable product, is scattered with beneficent profusion 
throughout the county, there being scarcely a town in which it is not found, 
either in a state of comparative purity or in combination with other rocks. 
Except upon rich cultivated meadows no portion of the State is so fertile as 
that upon the limestone of this section. Perpetual kilns are erected, and the 
business of manufacture is extensively carried on during all seasons of the 
year. The purest limestone is selected and the product of the kilns is as white 
as chalk. Most of the perpetual kilns are built contiguous to railroads, and 
thus the expense incident to transportation by team is avoided. At Brandon 
about 25,000 barrels of lime are obtained per annum by one company. Its 
purity renders it very valuable for bleaching and other similar purposes to 
whicii it is applied. 

As the marble quarries and industries are to be considered in another 
chapter, only brief reference will be made to the subject here. Marble is a 
name applied to those varieties of carbonate of lime that can be quarried in 
large blocks destitute of fissures and sufficiently compact and uniform in struc- 
ture to receive a good polish. The value of marble, when found in workable 
quantit)', depends upon the purity of its whiteness, or upon the beauty or 
agreeable association of color in the variegated kinds. Many varieties are often 
fjund in the same quarries — the white and gray, the mottled and striped; 
but each is restricted to certain " tiers," " layers," or " beds," and generally 
continues with them sometimes several hundred feet. The variety of marble 
most extensively worked in Rutland county is the white granular variety, in 
structure and color similar to the Carrara marble of Italy. The translucent 
white marble, so highly held in regard by the ancients, has its equivalent in 
small quantities in the fine translucent marbles of Brandon. Quarries of the 
white marble arc found in Rutland, Siidbur}', Brandon, Pittsford, Clarendon, 
Wallingford, Tinmouth and Danb\-. It may be proper to here remark that 
until 1804 marble was not sawed in New England, but quarries were selected 
where "sheets" could be split off, which afterward were worked smooth and 
to the desired shape with chisels in the hands of workmen. Then the plan of 
the marble workers who lived in the time of Pliny was adopted, and the fiist 
marble in this section was sawed with a smooth strip of soft iron, with the help 
of sand and water — the plan now universally adopted. There have been many 
improvements, however, both in sawing and cutting marble that will be de- 
scribed in the chapter before alluded to, and .sketches of the various enterprises 
in quarrying and working marble will be given in the history of the towns in 
which they exist. 

The roofing slate of Vermont exists in three distinct divisions, the largest 
ami most vahiahlc being confined to Rutland coiintv. The western division 



Natural Characteristics. 31 

extends through the towns of Castleton, Fair Haven, Poultney, Wells and 
Pavvlet, and passes into the State of New York at Granville. The color resem- 
bles that of Wales, being of a dark purple with occasional layers of green inter- 
mixed. There are also strata in which pea green is the prevailing color, from 
which large quantities of that shade are obtained. Slate of a red color is also 
found. It now forms one of the leading industries of the county and proves 
remunerative to those who have embarked in the enterprise of working the 
quarries. In 1845 Hon. Alanson Allen, of Fair Haven, began the working of 
slate, and for several years limited his business exclusively to manufacturing 
school slates, turning out one hundred per day. In 1847 '^^ began the manu- 
facture of roofing slate. In 1850 a new vigor was given to the slate business. 
Intelligent Welshmen, accustomed to working slate, emigrated to Fair Haven, 
Castleton and Poultney, made purchases of slate lands and opened quarries, 
and such was the character of the slate produced that the prejudice which had 
existed in various localities against the Vermont product disappeared. Im- 
proved machinery was introduced and the price of roofing slate in the market 
was so materially reduced as to seriously affect those who did not rely upon 
the cheap labor of Europe. At the present time the production per annum 
exceeds three times the whole amount of slate imported from all foreign coun- 
tries. Sawing and planing slate for black boards, billiard tables and tile have 
also been introduced. In 1855 the process of enameling slate was begun and 
now mantelpieces, bracket shelves, tables and other articles are largely manu- 
factured. They excel in beauty or finish the finest marbles and sell at about 
one-fourth the price of the marble which they quite faithfully represent. A 
description of the different slate industries will be given elsewhere. 

Kaolin, or porcelain clay, commonly known as " pipe clay," " paper clay " 
and " putty," is found in several places, associated with ochers of iron and 
manganese. Unlike most clays, it is of snowy whiteness, slightly coherent 
and does not change color upon being burned; it is extensivel)' used in the 
manufacture of stone ware, fire-bricks, white earthen ware, paper, vulcanized 
India rubber, porcelain and other like articles. The largest and best deposit 
in this county is at Brandon, where fire-bricks are made, and large quantities 
of it are sold under the name of paper clay and used in paper-making. The 
bed at Brandon has the greatest thickness of any in the State. It is also found 
in small quantities in Chittenden and Wallingford. Clay for bricks is found in 
nearly every town of the county. 

Pigments of various kinds are found in different parts of the county, and in 
such quantity as to be profitably worked. Paints have been extensively manu- 
factured in Brandon, and in this town there is found a greater variety of mate- 
rials suitable for pigments than in any otiier in the State; possibly greater 
than in any other in New England. The several colors of paints produced are 
yellow, brown, red, roofing paint, and raw and burnt umber. The Brandon 



History of Rutland County. 



paints have been thoroughly tested and approved and they are recognized as 
among the best in the market. There are other points where manganese is 
found in isolated beds, independent of iron ore. Ocher beds often exist where 
workable ore is not found. Manganese is found in Brandon, Chittenden, Pitts- 
ford and VVallingford, and probably at other places. 

The rocks of Rutland county, whose ages are determined by their imbedded 
fossils, are too old to contain workable beds of coal ; but persons unacquainted 
with geology, and perhaps regarding the occurrence of coal as accidental and 
governed by no fixed laws, have vainly sought for it among the silurian rocks 
of the Otter Creek valley, confiding more in the evidence upon the glazed sur- 
face of the black slate than in well-settled facts of science. Brown coal, com- 
posed of carbonaceous matter capable of sustaining combustion and emitting 
heat, is sometimes found. At Brandon it has been discovered in a bed having 
an area of twenty- five feet square, which has been penetrated to the depth of 
eighty feet perpendicularly and the coal removed and used as fuel in driving 
an engine. 

Many of the iron ores are found in this county, of which the hematite is the 
most abundant and valuable for smelting. We cannot attempt more than a 
brief description of the principal beds and veins in the county. At South Wal- 
lingford iron ore is found, and has been worked, but the beds are now aban- 
doned. In Tinmouth the Chipman Bed was successfully worked more than 
thirty years, but this is also now abandoned. Another bed known as the Phillip 
Iron Mine, was opened and worked fifty years ago, and was not abandoned 
until a few years since. It is favorably situated for working and the ore ob- 
tained of good quality, but the ore has probably been mostly removed. In 
Pittsford and Chittenden beds of ore are still worked and considerable com- 
mercial value is put upon them. Iron ore was first discovered in Brandon in 
1 8 10, and soon afterward a forge was built and bar iron of a superior quality 
was manufactured for several years. In 1820 a furnace was built for reducing 
the ore, which met with success ; it is to this furnace that Brandon is indebted 
for an impetus then given to its business growth and prosperity, the influence 
of which is still felt. The Blake Ore Bed, near Forestdale, was successfully 
worked for many years, but is not now in operation. To describe minutely 
the numerous beds of bog ore found would be a difficult task, for they e.xist in 
every town, but not one would, as far as known, produce iron enough to pay 
the expense, nor of a quality valuable for smelting. 

At Cuttingsville is found a deposit of copperas ore, a name given to pyrites 
of iron and copperas. The beds have been worked, but were abandoned many 
years ago, although favorably situated, being upon a hillside and within a few 
rods of the railroad. Veins of tin exist in this belt where it has been explored 
at sufficient dei)th. No silver has been found in the county, except as before 
stated, allhough fabulous stories have been told of its existence and some e.x- 



Natural Characteristics. 33 

plorations have been made in past years in Wallingford. Native gold has been 
found in small quantities in the beds or on the beaches of some of the smaller 
streams. 

No county of the same extent in Vermont equals Rutland in the amount of 
its agricultural productions. The soils, although varying materially in their 
construction and composition, are invariably such as are favorable to the growth 
of grass, and the rocky hillsides, which would fail to remunerate those who 
would attempt their cultivation, afford excellent pasturage, and, unlike some 
others, the very hill tops as well as the valleys beneath, have in midsunmier a 
greenness which makes the name vert mont appropriate. 

It has been our intention to briefly present the geological features of the 
county in such a manner as to be understood by the unscientific reader, and 
hence we have avoided as far as possible all technical terms. It will have been 
seen that this subject is one of interest and importance in this locality, and the 
same may be said of the mineralogy of the county. Therein lies largely the 
source of future wealth and prosperity, and, therefore, if for no other reason, it 
is a subject to be studied by all into whose hands this work shall fall. 

Topography. — Upon the nature of the geological formations of a country 
depend, in a great measure, the salubrity of the atmosphere and its tempera- 
ture, the purity of the water, the fertility of the soil, and the aspect of its nat- 
ural scenery. A brief outline only can be attempted of the topography of the 
county, its mountains, streams and lakes, or ponds, and a few of the more in- 
teresting views and objects, which aid to form the beautiful and charming scen- 
ery for which Rutland county is so generally distinguished. 

The county is situated between the parallels 43° 18' and 43'^ 54' north lat- 
itude, and between 3° 41' and 4° 19' longitude east from Washington. The 
mean temperature of the climate is about 43°, while the rain fall averages forty 
to forty-three inches a year. 

The most striking and characteristic feature in the scenery of Rutland 
county is the range of Green Mountains that extends through its entire length, 
in which tower heavenward peaks of great altitude and grandeur. The range 
is unbroken and forms a water-shed from which flow eastward some of the 
tributaries of the Connecticut and those of the Hudson River and Lake Cham- 
plain to the westward. There are no rivers breaking through the mountains, 
as in the more northerly parts of the range, affording good opportunities for 
roads, but occasional small streams merely indicate a passageway ; the roads 
are consequently laid over the rugged mountains, not unfrequently passing 
across the range at an altitude of two thousand feet above the ocean. The 
pass at Mount Holly, one of the most favorable in the south part of the range, 
was selected for the course of the Rutland Railroad, and is one thousand, four 
hundred and fifteen feet above tide water at the " Summit " Station. 

The highest elevation in the county is Killington Mountain, or Peak, which 



34 



History of Rutland County. 



latter is its popular name. It is situated in the towns of Sherburne and Men- 
don and about ten miles distant from Rutland, and has within the last few years 
become a place of popular resort. The admeasurement of the distinguished 
Professor Guyot makes its height 4,221 feet above the ocean. 

Shrewsbury Peak, which lies south of it, is 3,845 feet in height. Pico Peak 
lies to the north, is cone-shaped, and 3,954 feet in height. Although much 
difference of opinion existed at a former day as to which was the highest of 
these mountains, Professor Guyot conclusively settled the question, and a per- 
son standing on the highest point of Killington will be easily convinced that 
its altitude is much greater than that of the surrounding peaks, upon which he 
can look down. Shrewsbury at the southeast lifts its wooded sides, while, 
crowding close on Killington, towers Pico, the dense forests of which have never 
been broken by the woodman's ax. The scenery is grand and impressive. 
The view from the summit is as extensive as that at Mount Mansfield in the 
nortliern part of the State, the height of which is 4,430 feet above tide water, 
and exhibits a landscape of far greater diversity. Instead of Lake Champlain 
with its numerous bays and verdant islands and the intervening cultivated farms, 
there is spread out before the beholder a scene more wild, solitary and rural. 
To the west thriving villages are in full view even to the banks of the Hudson 
and a portion of Lake Champlain, while to the north can be traced the ser- 
pentine windings of the Otter Creek, with numerous prosperous villages and 
substantial farm-houses upon its fertile banks. Turning the gaze to the east- 
ward the view of the wild surroundings of the mountain is quite as extensive. 
A hotel has been erected near the summit and a good road constructed ; in the 
seasons stages run daily from Rutland and many persons visit the mountain 
top in their own conveyances. Within eight rods of the summit are three 
springs of water, such as are found on nearly all the peaks of the Green Moun- 
tains, cool, pure and limpid and well calculated to refresh and invigorate the 
traveler. 

Among the most interesting natural curiosities of this section are the Calico 
or White Rocks in Wallingford, where the water-worn quartz pebbles are piled 
and cemented together. In a ravine opening to the southwest ice exists dur- 
ing the entire year. These White Rocks are 2,532 feet in elevation and, although 
not so high as some other points, afford a view of great beauty. There are 
rugged precipices, and rocks piled on rocks, presenting a scene of wild gran- 
deur. This is sometimes called the home of eagles, on account of the weird 
ruggedncss of the beetling cliffs and dizzy heights. Mount Tabor is an ele- 
vated point of this range, but it has no especial attractions except some natural 
ponds. Nearly two-thirds of the mountain are still in a primeval state, and 
upon its heights are some of the largest charcoal kilns in the country. 

West of the Green Mountains and nearly parallel with them is a rano-e 
known as the Taconic Mountains, which extentl from Massachusetts and enter 



Natural Characteristics. 35 

the county at Danby, continuing as far north as Brandon. In thi.s range are 
numerous passes affording opportunity for roads, notably in tlie valleys of the 
Pawlet, Poultney and Castleton Rivers. So numerous are these gaps that the 
range is given the appearance of a series of isolated mountains wholly indepen- 
dent of each other. The measurement of several peaks in this range shows 
that they rise to the height of 3,000 feet or more above tide water. The tops 
and sides are often clothed with variegated verdure, scarcely ever seen on the 
western slopes of the Green Mountains. The most important peak in the 
Taconic range is Bird Mountain, in the town of Ira, a distance of a few miles 
from Castleton and some six miles from Rutland. Its elevation above the 
ocean is nearly 2,500 feet.i The sides of this mountain are so precipitous as 
to render ascent difficult, except on the northeast side ; at this point, even, 
the ascent is so steep as to preclude the possibility of going on horseback the 
entire distance ; foot-paths, however, lead to the top, which is not more than a 
mile distant from the wagon road. The summit consists of rock and is nearly 
destitute of soil and vegetation. In this respect it differs from other mountains 
of the range. The prospect is not as extensive as from many other summits, 
yet it embraces many interesting scenes. There is on every hand an agree- 
able diversity of landscape — hills and valleys, woods and cultivated fields. 

Herrick Mountain, also in the town of Ira, about two miles eastward from 
Bird Mountain, is 2,661 feet in height. This peak forms a prominent feature 
of the landscape and presents an outline the peculiarity of which is well calcu- 
lated to arrest the attention ; it has the appearance of two mountains with a 
chasm between. There are other mountains in this range worthy of notice, 
although less prominent than those noted. Danby Mountain, lying mainly in 
that township, is one celebrated for its quarries of marble, situated twelve hun- 
dred feet above the valley, to which the product is transported by a railroad 
down the mountain. The view from this peak is somewhat limited, but quite 
picturesque. Haystack Mountain, in the town of Pawlet, is a notable eminence 
in the southwest part of the town. It rises to a height of about 2,000 feet and 
the sides are so steep as to lorm an angle in many places of at least sixty de- 
grees. Its summit is sharp and rugged, while other peaks more rounded in 
contour are thrown around it, producing a scene of rare beauty. Jl.J.3GJ_33 



1 The tradition concerning the name of this mountai . is to the effect that in the spring of 1767 
Colonel Amos Bird and others visited this region, before unknown to them. They journeyed from 
Connecticut to Bennington and Manchester by well-known paths ; thence all was a wilderness and 
they sought their way by marked trees, following the Battenkill and OUer Creek until Clarendon was 
reached. They soon came upon the old military road leading from Charlestown, N. H., to Crown 
Point, N. Y., and passed along the northern border of the t: wn of Castleton and so on to Ticonderoga. 
There they replenished their stock of provisions and went down Lake Champlain to Whitehall. In 
their travels they had passed by Castleton, the point for which they set out. The tradition says that 
in surveying the town Colonel Bird lost his way and in wandering about reached the top of a high 
niguntain, where he passed the night. From this circumstance the mountain took its name — " Bird 
Mountain." There are other traditions upon this question, but this one is believed to be most 
authentic. 



36 History of Rutland County. 

Moose Horn Mountain, in Wells, on the banks of Lake St. Cathrine, is 
among the most pecuHar of the Taconic group. The eastern side slopes gradu- 
ally from the summit to the valley beneath ; the western face presents a bold 
and almost startling aspect, from its abruptness. A barren rock, with its front 
cut straight in the direction of its length and nearly perpendicular from foot to 
crown, adds beauty, even to the lake lying at its foot. There are many other 
elevations in the county that lend beauty and grandeur to the locality, but fur- 
ther detailed descriptions of their characteristics would far exceed the space 
allotted here to the landscape scenery that has given the county a wide fame. 

Streams. — With the somewhat severe climate of Rutland county and her 
rugged surface, her general agricultural prosperity must be attributed more to 
the skill and industry of her husbandmen than to any native generosity of 
Mother Earth. Her geographical inland position offers little opportunity for a 
great commercial center. Though her quarries of marble and slate are unsur- 
passed, her mineral resources dwindle into insignificance when compared with 
those of other counties of equal extent in the Middle and Western States. 
Wanting in _those elements that form a foundation for the prosperity of the 
State, nature, as if mindful of her neglect, has placed at our disposal one of the 
mightiest of visible motors, a gift too precious to be carelessly squandered. 

To the many visitors who annually seek this region to recuperate health 
and pass the season in idleness it scarcely occurs that from these hills and val- 
leys flow scores of streams, furnishing along their course the foundation and 
source of wealth. Nature, at best, makes but few spontaneous contributions to 
the wealth and prosperity of nations. The amount of property possessed by a 
people will always depend greatly upon the skill and labor they apply in de- 
veloping natural resources. Rutland county has not to any considerable e.xtent 
improved the advantages at her command ; but as they have been improved, 
so has she prospered. More than three-fourths of the water power of the 
county is still undeveloped. 

The Otter Creek is the longest stream in Vermont, extending ninety-one 
miles and watering about 900 square miles. It originates in Mount Tabor, 
Peru and Dorset, within a few rods of the head of the Battenkill, and runs 
through the entire length of the county. The curious fact exists that these 
two rivers, which rise within a few rods of each other, are of about equal 
length ; the Battenkill running south to the Hudson River and the Otter Creek 
north into Lake Champlain. The latter offers along its course important and 
valuable water power. At Sutherland Falls, Middlebury and Weybridge are 
valuable falls which would afford power for the use of millions of dollars in 
manufactures. There are already located upon its banks some of the finest 
nianufaciuring establishments in the State. In the lower part of its course its 
rate of descent is very small, except an occasional fall over ledges of rocks ; 
the upper part of its course is over an undulating country. There are moraine 



Natural Characteristics. 37 

or glacier terraces on botii sides of the creek from Danby to Clarendon. In 
Wallingford the valley is narrow and quite deep, but is much wider at Claren- 
don. At Sutherland Falls the creek passes over rocks, finally tumbling down 
a precipice. These falls afford one of the most valuable mill privileges in the 
State, and the surroundings are picturesque and beautiful. The spot is well 
worthy of a visit from those who justly appreciate attractive scenery. A wide- 
spread and beautiful valley opens to the north, thickly studded with comfort- 
able and ofttimes elegant farm-houses, with well-fenced and highly-cultivated 
fields, beyond which and still farther northward the landscape presents a pano- 
rama of rare beauty. From this point commences a meadow often over two 
miles wide and extending to Middlebury. Here it begins to narrow and in 
this condition extends to Vergennes, where it is interrupted by a ledge of 
rocks, after which it continues uninterrupted to Lake Champlain. 

There are numerous tributaries to Otter Creek, of which the following are 
the more important: Mill River, which rises in Mount Holly, following the 
route of the Rutland Railroad to Cuttingsville where it turns west to Otter 
Creek. At this point it cuts through a high ridge of rock, forming a deep 
gorge. East Creek joins the Otter Creek in the village of Rutland, having its 
rise in Chittenden; just below South Chittenden on the creek is a fine mo- 
raine terrace of considerable breadth. Furnace Brook rises in Chittenden 
and joins the creek in Fittsford. The village of North Chittenden is located in 
a fine basin hollowed out of the highest terrace. Between these and Pittsford 
the stream passes through a rocky gorge and the scenery in the vicinity is 
quite picturesque. Tinmouth River empties into the Otter Creek near Center 
Rutland. Its source is in Danby and it flows through a narrow valley which, 
after reaching Rutland, begins to expand. Poultney River rises in Tinmouth 
and traverses Middletown, Poultney, Fairhaven and Westhaven and falls 
into East Bay, an arm of Lake Champlain ; its length is about twenty-five 
miles. It affords many valuable mill sites. At Carver's a peculiar change in 
the channel took place in 1783 ; the stream cut a gorge at that point one hun- 
dred feet deep, lowering the bed of the river for some distance above and car- 
rying immense quantities of earth into East Bay. The meadows upon this 
stream are extensive and fertile. Among its tributaries are Codman's Creek 
in Westhaven, Hubbardton River and Castleton River. Upon the latter 
there is a distinct basin of moraine terraces, embracing the villages of Castleton 
and Castleton Corners. On this river, before it reaches Ira, where the stream 
has cut through the Taconic range of mountains in West Rutland, is a terrace. 
Near the celebrated marble quarries the stream runs through a meadow, quite 
low and marshy, forming an extended terrace. It is remarkable that so lim- 
ited a stream should rise east of a range of mountains one thousand feet high, 
and, after flowing to the south seven miles, suddenly bend its course at right 
angles and cut through the mountain ; especially is this true when an obstruc- 



38 HisroKV ok Rutland County. 



tion of a few feet in the gorge would divert the stream southeast to the Otter 
Creek. This gorge runs east and west, contrary to the usual direction of ex- 
cavated valleys in Vermont, and as it is in the region of curious and gigantic 
disturbances of the underlying strata, it is probable that the valley of the 
stream through Ira was formed in some other way than by erosion. Pawlet 
River in the southwestern part of the county is the only other important 
stream to be named ; it affords many excellent mill sites which were useful in 
the olden times. It rises in Dorset Mountain and passes through that town- 
ship and Pawlet to Whitehall, N. Y. At West Dorset the meadows along its 
banks expand and are especially fertile. At the village of Pawlet, where Flower 
Creek joins Pawlet River, the view of terraces is unusually instructive and adds 
beauty to the scenery. 

There are several other minor streams which will find mention in subse- 
quent to.vn histories. 

Mineral S/>niigs. — There are many mineral springs of various qualities 
and characteristics scattered through the county. The most famous are the 
Clarendon Springs, which are doubtless among the finest ever visited for their 
medicinal virtues, and about a quarter of a century ago were probably more 
resorted to than any others in the State. A tradition exists that their medi- 
cinal character was first discovered in 1776 by Asa Smith, who resided in the 
eastern part of the township. As report has it, he dreamed of a spring in the 
western part of the town, and, full of faith, started through the wilderness and 
over the high liills in search of the fount to furnish the water that should re- 
store him to health. Arriving at this point he recognized it as the spring that 
was the object of his dream, and from the use of its waters regained his health. 
This is the narration of the discovery as it has come down through the genera- 
tions. The first current use of the waters began in 1794; in 1798 a frame 
hotel was built, and since 1800 the spring has been constantly visited by many 
persons suffering from cutaneous diseases, and large quantities of the water 
have been conveyed away in jugs and barrels by people of the surrounding 
country. From fifteen hundred to two thousand persons have in some years 
visited these springs for health and recreation. Through the discovery of 
other mineral springs of similar medicinal qualities the number of visitors has 
fallen off in the past twenty years. An excellent hotel and several boarding 
houses now afford accommodations for visitors. The waters resemble the 
springs of Germany, and their curative qualities result more from gaseous than 
mineral characteristics. 

The Middletown Springs, that for a time gained celebrity for curative prop- 
erties, were first made use of in 1S62, although it is claimed that their mineral 
qualities were known to physicians prior to 1811. They are located on the 
north bank of I'oultney River. In 1868 several parties reported cases that 
had been benefited by the use of the water for various disorders. Their fame 



Natural Characteristics. 39 

spread rapidly and many wanted their waters at all seasons of the year. A 
large bottling establishment was erected and the water was shipped to all sec- 
tions of the country. That the waters possess mineral and curative qualities 
there is no doubt and in some cases are valuable as a remedial agent ; but ex- 
aggerated statements on this point have been made. In 1870 the Mont Vert 
Hotel was erected, which annually accommodates se\'eral hundred guests who 
come to the springs for rest, recuperation or pleasure. 

Lakes of Rutland County ^ — Lake Bombazine lies in a basin of Georgia, 
or argillaceous slate. It is eight miles long form north to south, and two and 
one-half miles wide at its widest part. Three-fourths lie in the town of 
Castleton, and one fourth in Hubbardton. That portion in Hubbardton is 
very marshy and muddy, while that in Castleton, in some places, is very deep 
and the shores are rocky, or gravelly. It receives its waters from the slopes 
of the adjacent country through Hopkins, Beaver Meadow, and Sucker Brooks 
on the east side ; Johnston's Brook and the outlet of Screw-driver Pond on 
the west side; Jelliff's and Rumsey's Brooks in the town of Hubbardton; and 
other rills without names along the shores. The waters flow southward and 
empty through the creek into Castleton River at Hydeville. 

The lake has long been called " Bombazine." It is uncertain when or how 
it received this name, but tradition says that when the country was new the 
lake was surrounded 'by a heavy growth of green forest trees, which reflected 
upon the surface of the water a green shade resembling the cloth called bom- 
bazine, and by common consent it thus came into general use. 

Another tradition says that soon after the town commenced to be settled 
a .peddler crossed the lake on the ice having several webs of bombazine on his 
sled ; one web was unrolled and trailed on the ice nearly the whole distance 
across the lake, which ruined the piece. The peddler then named the lake 
Bombazine. Whichever explanation is the correct one, it evidently is derived 
from the name of the cloth then known as bombazine. The name is spelled 
on William Blodgett's map of Vermont Bombazon. But the first time it is 
mentioned as Bombazine is in a deed from Samuel Moulton July 23, 1S04, in 
the Castleton land records. From that period up to the present the word oc- 
curs occasionally. In some of the deeds it is spelled " Bombazine," in others 
" Bombazeen." In the earliest Castleton land records, and even up to quite 
recently, the lake has been called "The Pond," " Castleton Pond," " The Great 
Pond," " The Grate Pond." 

About 1867, or a little later, Mr. R. M. Copeland, who had purchased con- 
siderable land property at West Castleton, and who was somewhat identified 
with the slate interests there, and who was a great admirer of the scenery of 
that region, claimed that the name was taken from the famous Norridgewock 
chief, Bomazeen, who was killed in 1724, and in some way the lake in Castle- 

1 Prepared and contributed by Dr. John M. Currier, of Castleton. 



40 History of Rutland County. 

ton was named after him, and had been misspelled " Bombazine." Through his 
influence, no one interposing an objection to his authority, the word " Bomo- 
seen," instead of " Bomazeen," came into general use. But there was not the 
least foundation for his assertion as to the relationship of the Norridgewock 
chief to the lake in Castleton. Bombazine is the name given that body of 
water when mentioned as a lake by the early settlers of the town, and the one 
that has been generally adopted by common usage, and the one which should 
be now used. 

The east side of the lake is skirted with fertile and slightly elevated slate 
ridges. On the west side parallel with the lake runs the West Castleton range 
of mountains, which affords an inexhaustible supply of roofing s.late. In many 
places the waters of the lake wash the foot of the mountain, making it im- 
practicable building a road along its shore. 

Commencing on the east side of the outlet of the lake, following the shore 
around, the various points of interest are as follows : The " Indian Fields " is a 
plateau of over twenty acres of sandy land, about ten feet above the level of 
the lake, on which many Indian relics have been found. This was the site of 
an Indian village, of which tribe we have no authentic record, yet some of the 
older settlers remember seeing Indian families return in the summer season to 
visit the homes of their childhood. The specimens were all upon the surface. 

Green Bay is north of the " Indian Fields," and was so called from the 
evergreens growing upon the shore. 

Hopkins Brook is a small stream that empties into the lake north of Green 
Bay. It is named after an early proprietor of the farm through which it 
runs. 

Mason's Point is a rocky ledge that runs into the lake still farther to the 
north. It was named after Robert Mason, a native of Simsbury, Conn., who 
bought the land in 1782. 

Shaw's Bay lies to the east of Mason's Point. It derives its name from Dr. 
Samuel Shaw, one of the early physicians of Castleton, who owned the ad- 
joining property. 

" Josh Billings's Pulpit " is a round knob of slate ledge a few rods south of 
Shaw's Bay. It was so named by the Rutland County Historical Society in 
1882, by the consent of Henry Shaw (Josh Billings), who is a grandson of Dr. 
Samuel Shaw. 

Birch Point is so named from the white birch that grew upon it. 

Bishop's Bay lies to the east of Birch Point. It received its name from 
Joseph Bishop, who moved on to the adjoining farm in 1843, and was instru- 
mental in developing boating on the lake. Beaver Meadow Brook empties 
into this bay. It receives its name from its source being in the large Beaver 
Meadow about one- half mile east. 

Town Farm Bay is about one mile farther to the north. It receives its 



Natural Characteristics. 41 

name from the town farm situated in the immediate vicinity. Sucker Creek 
empties into this bay. Diamond Ledge and the famous Slate Pencil Quarry 
are also in the immediate vicinity. 

Goodwin's Bay sets into the land about one-half mile north of the town 
farm. It is named after the owner of the adjoining land. 

Diamond Point separates Goodwin's Bay from the main channel of the 
lake. It is named from the character of the point, which is an angular ledge 
of slate. 

The Johnson Bridge spans the narrow channel of the lake between the 
Goodwin farm on the east and Johnson farm on the west. The marshy por- 
tion of the lake lies north of this bridge. Stannard's Cove is about one-half 
mile south of the the bridge on the west side of the lake. It received its name 
from the owner of the farm in the vicinity. Stannard's Point is south of the 
cove. 

Watch Point is still farther south ; it is a point of ledge about fifteen feet 
above the surface of the lake, and covered with a growth of small trees. It 
received its name from the custom of the early settlers concealing themselves 
in the evergreens on the point and watching for the deer when they came down 
to drink, or to cross the lake. 

Johnson's Brook empties into the lake west of Watch Point. It rises among 
the hills to the northwest. 

Eagle's Bay is situated between Watch Point and Cedar Mountain. It is 
about one mile in length, and is so called because of the eagles that have built 
their nests on the cliffs of Cedar Mountain from time immemorial, and have 
been observed to hover over this portion of the lake during the summer and 
autumn, watching the fish-hawk and robbing it of its prey. 

Cedar Mountain rises abruptly about three hundred feet above the surface 
of the lake. It is one mass of slate rock and a conspicuous object from nearly 
all points on the lake. It has borne this name for over one hundred years, 
which it received from the abundance of cedar growing upon it. Slate is quar- 
ried at the foot of the mountain. 

West Castleton Bay is situated between Cedar Mountain and Rocky Point. 
Here is the widest part of the lake. Williams's Brook and the outlet of Screw- 
driver Pond empty into this bay. 

Rocky Point is south of West Castleton Ba)'. Its name indicates its phys- 
ical features. It is a rocky bend into the lake, though covered with a dense 
forest. 

Cookville Ba\' extends from Rocky Point southward. The lake is about 
two miles wide at this place. 

There are two islands in Lake Bombazine : Rabbit and Neshobe. Rabbit 
island is situated in the north end of Eagle's Bay, containing an area of about 
three acres. It is a ledge of slate rock, lightly covered with soil, on which is a 



42 History of Rutland County. 



delightful grove of shrubbery and trees. It takes its name from the fact that 
rabbits collect on the island to feed upon its foliage in the winter season and 
get imprisoned there when the ice melts out of the lake in the spring. The 
island is long and narrow. It never was used for an\- other purpose than as a 
temporary resort for fishing and camping parties. It is very probable that it 
was a favorite resort for the Indians in prehistoric times, as a great variety of 
implements have been found upon the southern extremity. 

Neshobe Island is situated about in the center of the lake, and contains an 
area of about ten acres. This, too, is a solid mass of slate rock, but its surface 
is covered with a deeper soil than Rabbit Island, and has a heavier growth of 
trees. It was named by the Rutland County Historical Society on July 4, 
1 88 1, after the Indian scout, Neshobe, mentioned in Thompson's novel The 
Greefi Moiaitain Boys. 

Neshobe Island was first cleared about 1790, by Robert Mason, and planted 
to corn ; but was allowed to grow up to bushes until 18 10 when it was again 
cleared by the Shaws, who then lived upon Mason's Point east of the Island. 
After three or four years it was again allowed to grow up to bushes, some of 
which still stand as ornamental shade trees to a summer resort. From the first 
settlement of the town of Castleton this island has been a favorite resort for 
fishing parties. In 1835 a rough board house thirteen feet square was erected 
on the southern extremity of the island by S. H. Langdon, who also put in 
cooking utensils, and had an ice-house built and filled every winter for sum- 
mer use, which was free to all parties who might desire to sojourn there. For 
several years these accommodations were amply sufficient to supph' the wants 
of those who went to that enchanted island grove to re\-el in fish-chowders, St. 
Croix, and other favorite brands of choice liquors. This was the first boat- 
house on the lake. This building was burned by incendiary fire several years 
afterwards. In about 1840 a party of revelers who visited the island christened 
it " Chowder Island," when they served a chowder and had other festivities. 
But the name was mentioned only by the members of the party or their imme- 
diate friends, and it soon fell into disuse. 

In 1877 John A. Leggett bought the island of Mr. S. H. Langdon who 
owned it and had kept it fitted many years for festive occasions, and the next 
year erected a two story hotel of wood. Mr. Leggett became insolvent and in 
1880 the premises went into the possession of Jane Barker; since which time 
the island has been very much beautified and the buildings much improved. 
The place is now one of the most delightful summer resorts in New England. 
In 1884 the Rutland county historical society adopted for the island a coat-of- 
armsi which is described as follows: Dexter chief, ermine ; sinister base, ar- 
gent. On ermine an annulet gules, in which is Neshobe Island vert, above 
waves azure. On argent is a deer purpura, at gaze, between a flock of wild 

1 Proceedings of RtdhinJ County Historical Society, Vol. 2, page 69. 



Natural Characteristics. 



•geese or, and a brace of arrow-heads gules. On a bend sinister sable, a fish 
or, natant between a pond-lily bud argent, and the American eagle or, perch- 
ing. 

Crest: Indian gules, paddling a birchen canoe or, between two drakes vert, 
natant, on waves azure. 

Motto: " But Neshobe dieth never." 




Neshobe dieth never. 



Screw-driver Pond lies west of West Castleton and the village ot West Cas- 
tleton. It was so called from its resemblance in shape to the screw-driver that 
was used with the flint lock guns. The name has been in use for this body of 
water more than one hundred years, as it appears in the land records of the 
town of Castleton as early as 1785. It is scarcely more than one-fourth of a 
mile in length and much less than that wide. It is surrounded by scraggy slate 
rock and forest groves, with clean shores, making it a lovely gem. It empties 
into Lake Bombazine. In about 1867 Mr. R. M. Copeland, referred to in con- 
nection with the re-naming of Lake Bombazine, gave to this little pond the 
name of Glen Lake. Both names, however, are in common use at the present 
time. There are several small ponds to the northwest of Lake Bombazine, 
which act as feeders to the latter. 

There are three villages on the shores of Lake Bombazine, viz : Hydeville, 
Cookville and West Castleton. Hydeville is situated at the falls on the outlet 
of the lake. It was formerly called Castleton Mills. Cookville is situated on 
Cookville Bay or the west shore of the lake. It is a village built up by those 



44 HisToRV OF Rutland County. 

working- in the slate quarries in that vicinity. It derives its name from Mr. 
Cook who was largely concerned in the development of the slate interest there. 
West Castleton is situated between Screw-driver Pond and Lake Bombazine. 
Its principal business is quarrying slate. 

Up to 1878 there were no hotels along the shores of the lake to accommo- 
date tourists, who might wish to stop for any length of time. Travelers had 
to be entertained at the farm-houses bordering on the lake. There were seve- 
ral small buildings, called " boat-houses," along the shore of rude construc- 
tion, which served as shelters in case of storm. The owner kept several boats 
to let for fishing, sailing or rowing. Visitors to the lake were usually picnic 
parties for one day only, or family parties who furnished their own tent and 
provisions, and who came in from the surrounding country. 

Since 1878 five hotels have been erected and several farm-houses have 
been enlarged and fitted up for the accommodation of travelers and summer 
boarders, since which time several hundred regular boarders stop every sum- 
mer at the various houses. 

In 1878 a small steamer was put upon the lake, which makes regular trips- 
from Hydeville through the lake and return, stopping at the various places of 
resort. 

Lake Champlain should not be omitted in a sketch of the waters of Rut- 
land county, as the southern portion skirts the western boundary of the county 
from Whitehall, forming the west line of the towns of Westhaven and Ben- 
son, a distance of sixteen miles to Orwell; the latter was, until twenty- five 
years ago. one of the towns of Rutland count)-. The lake is quite narrow at 
this point and resembles a river in appearance. Its width varies from one to 
three-fourths of a mile until it reaches Crown Point. It is one of the most in- 
teresting and attractive bodies of water in this country. An account of its 
discovery by Champlain has been given in a preliminary chapter. The beau- 
tiful scenery and the historic associations on the Vermont shore opposite Ti- 
conderoga make that point one of interest to visitors. Mount Independence,, 
in Orwell, is a small elevation formerly included in the limits of Rutland 
county, opposite Fort Ticonderoga, upon which St. Clair erected fortifications- 
which were connected with the fort by a floating bridge across the lake, twelve 
feet wide and more than a thousand feet in length. This bridge had twenty- 
two sunken piers to give it strength and durability, remains of which are occa- 
sionally found at low water. 

Lake St. Cathrine, lying in the towns of Poultney and Wells is five miles- 
in length and one mile wide in its greatest breadth. Recent authorities ac- 
count for the name St. Catiirine as being given to this body of water by a party 
of Jesuit fathers who, at an early date, had a mission among the Indians and 
were stationed upon the shore of this lake. This statement is well authenti- 
cated by Catholic authority. The lake is called " St. Augustine " in Thomp- 



Natural Characteristics. 45 

son's history. It is authenticated by record that it bore this name as early as 
1767. Governor Hall, in speaking of the name, says: "It appears from the 
New York land papers in the office of the Secretary of State at Albany, that 
on the 27th of April, 1767, a survey was returned of five thousand acres of 
land for Colonel Maunsell, in the county of Albany, on the west side of ' Lake 
Cathrine ' and that the same land was granted to him, March 7, 1771. On a 
map published in London in 1779, on which are located the several grants 
made by the governors of New York up to the time of the Revolution, Maun- 
sell's tract is marked as lying on the west side of a body of water designated as 
'St. Cathrine.'" The present name was undoubtedly the original one; 
although it has been called at various periods by different names, among them 
being " Lake Austin," or "'Wells Pond." It covers an area of about two 
thousand acres, lying in two parts which are connected by a channel about 
three-fourths of a mile in length and from three to eight rods in width ; the 
lower portion is called the Little Lake, and is about three-fourths of a mile in 
length by one-half in breadth. It is a beautiful sheet of water, surrounded by 
mountains ; the water is clear, abounds in fish, and it has become a favorite 
resort for visitors in summer. Several hotels ha\'e been erected for their ac- 
commodation and a small steamer plies its waters. 

There are many lesser bodies of water that should be mentioned, some of 
which are even designated as lakes, and the majority as ponds, and many are 
in remote and unfrequented parts of the county. Among them are Martin's 
Pond in Benson, two miles long and the same in width. Inman Pond, a ro- 
mantic body of water in the north part of Fairhaven, deriving its name from 
Isaiah Inman, who settled near it. In Hubbardton there are twelve ponds 
wholly or in part within the limits of the township, some with and others 
without names. Beebe's Pond is one mile long and three-fourths of a mile 
wide. Lake Hortensia, which is three miles long and a half mile wide; its 
original name was "Gregory's Pond," and afterwards " Horton's Pond." It 
is near the village of Hortonville. Jackson Pond, near Mechanicsville in Mount 
Holly, is a mile long and half a mile wide ; it was first occupied by Abram 
Jackson, one of the first settlers, as a mill site, but is now utilized by a large 
manufacturing establishment. There is a natural pond on the height of the 
mountain on the line between Mount Tabor and Peru. From this pond flows 
a stream called Big Branch, which enters into the Otter Creek at Danby ; the 
whole distance traversed by it is about seven miles. The town of Rutland has 
several small bodies of water, but none that have assumed any importance or 
value. There are two considerable ponds in the south part of the town of 
Shrewsbury, one of which is now known as Shrewsbury Pond; it is a roman- 
tic spot and is used for the cultivation of fish. Chapman Pond, in Tinmouth, 
is a mile and a half long and half a mile wide; has some celebrity as a fishing 
resort. There are three considerable ponds in the town of "V^'allingford, the 



46 History of Rutland County. 

longest of which is called Spectacle Pond, and sometimes "Lake Hiram;" it 
is two miles long and a mile wide. Another pond covers about fifty acres and^ 
is not far from the one just mentioned. West of the Otter Creek, about a mile 
from the village, is Fo.x Pond, which is three-fourths of a mile in length and 
half a mile in width. These three bodies of water are beautifully located and 
picturesque in all of their surroundings. These lakes and ponds, surrounded 
by the mountains, their placid surfaces in attractive contrast with the rugged 
steeps, add materially to the beauty of the landscapes of Rutland county. 



1 .\benalds - 


- Claims 


of the Indians to I 


.arrds - 


-1 


Before 


the 


Revoluti 


on — First Records 


of Expl. 


It Deb.-i 


table 


■ Ground 


in the French War 


— Mi 


lila 


Zxmvn : 


Point 


. — Elias 


PLiU's Statement. 







CHAPTER III. 

THE COLONI.\L PERIOD. 

Indian Occupation — The Iroquoi? 
of Irotiuois Occupation — Rutland Coi 
Cross and Melvin's Expeditions — Ve 
— The Road from Charlestown, .N. H. 

IN the preliminary chapter of this work considerable allusion has been made 
to the colonial history of this region ; this fact, and the no less important 
one that the details of that period have passed into general histor\- aiid are in- 
scribed in hundreds of brilliant pages, must be an e.xcuse for the cmiipai atively 
brief space which we here devote to the subject. 

The rich alluvial lands along the Otter Creek and other streams of this 
region offered the most favorable fields for hunting and fishing, and some of 
the Indian tribes doubtless made this country a place of residence or resort. 
At the time of the first discovery of Vennont by the French nobk man, Sam- 
uel Champlain, in 1609, the powerful Iroquois were its nominal possessors; 
they were probably trespassers on the territory of the Abenakis, or Canadian 
Indians, by whom they were eventually expelled. Evidence of its original 
populousness does not rest entirel)- on tradition. Indian mounds, tombstones 
and various memorials of aboriginal life and death were found on the territory 
occupied by them. Along the valleys and over the mountains doubtless passed 
successive generations of aboriginal inhabitants, with no chronicler to note their 
comings and goings. In this district of the country they planted their corn, 
hunted, lighted their council fires, planned their tribal wars, wooed, wed and 
wasted away in age and death, as inuch unheeded and unknown by the civil- 
ized world as the successive growths of the dark and, gloom}' forests they 
inhabited. 

Freqtient petitions have been made to the Legislature by the descendants 



The Colonial Period. 47 



of tlie Iroquois asking remuneration for lands once owned by their nation. Tlie 
first petition was presented in 1798, a second in 181 2, and renewed in 1853. 
A commissioner was appointed wlio made a full report upon the Indian claims, 
and they were registered. This territory has also been claimed by the Caugh- 
nawagas, a branch of the Mohawks, whose principal seat was at Albany, though 
they had temporary residences here, to which they annually repaired for the 
purpose of hunting and fishing. Their descendants now exist in tribes at St. 
Regis, in Franklin county, N. Y., and at Sault St. Louis, near Montreal. 
They claimed a conveyance of a tract of territory, the boundaries of which are 
thus described : " Beginning on the east side of Ticonderoga, from thence to 
the great falls on the Otter Creek, and continues the same course to the height 
of land that divides the streams between Lake Champlain and the River Con- 
necticut, from thence along the height of land opposite Missique, and thence 
to the bay." 

There are evidences that every year large numbers of these tribes were seen 
in their canoes ascending the Otter Creek to their favorite hunting grounds, 
wherein they constructed small huts and there took up their abode during the 
season favorable for the prosecution of their usual employment. The question 
what Indian nation first occupied and owned western Vermont has not to this 
day been fully settled, and still remains an historical problem. 

Notwithstanding the patient investigation of the subject of the original In- 
dian occupation, much that is unreliable has doubtless been handed down in 
tradition from generation to generation, especially in respect to the earlier 
dates; but in regard to the origin of the Iroquois, the localities of their resi- 
dence, and their principal wars and conquests, the successive transmitters of 
their history could hardly fail of being essentially correct. We may, therefore, 
confirmed as it is by many circumstances found to exist on the advent of the 
Europeans, set it down as an established fact that the Iroquois originated in 
the northwest and gradually extended themselves over the southeastern por- 
tions of New York to the upper parts of the Hudson and finally to Lake Cham- 
plain, and some distance at least into the country east of it. The conclusion 
is also established that they could not have reached and become possessed of 
western Vermont much before the French found their way into the St. Law- 
rence in 1535, since their conquest of the Mohegans did not take place till 
about the time North America was discovered by the whites, and it may be 
reasonably supposed that many years elapsed after their conquest and posses- 
sion of the rich and extensive Mohegan territory southeast of the upper Hud- 
son before they pushed northerly on to Lake Champlain to engage in a new 
war with the Abenakis, which should wrest from them their territory in the 
Cliamplain and Otter Creek valleys. It is equally evident they relinquished 
their possessions between 1 740 and 17G0 or about the period of the settlement 
of the State. 



48 History of Rutland County. 

Rutland county prior to the Revolution was unsettled and was predatory 
ground. Up to 1760 the territory was almost an unbroken wilderness. A 
few men from Massachusetts had located at " Dummer's Meadows," on the 
Connecticut River, near Brattleboro ; others had built a few block-houses and 
commenced clearings at several points farther north. Some French Canadians 
had built temporary residences at Chimney Point, on the shore of Lake Cham- 
plain, in the present town of Addison. But till the commencement of the 
French War a large proportion of this region was little known to- civilized men, 
few of whom had ever penetrated its mountain fastnesses. Such was the con- 
dition of this section of. the country and such were its inhabitants at the first 
approaches of civilization. The only known and authentic records of the ex- 
plorations of the territory embraced in this county were the diaries kept by 
James Cross and Eleazer Melvin. The former made his journey in April and 
Ma}', 1730, and the latter in May, 1748, but this region of country did not be- 
gin to be gcnerall)' known till 1754, when a series of operations began which 
eventually changed its whole physical aspect and brought a hardy race of 
civilized men to settle and open the territory. 

Mr. Cross made his tour of observation, starting from Fort Dummer, April 
27, 1730 ; he traveled up the banks of the Connecticut to Bellow's Falls, to the 
falls in the Black River at Springfield, and thence by Ludlow and Plymouth 
Ponds, until Arthur's Creek — Otter Creek — was reached, on Sunday, the 30th. 
The party then made canoes and sailed down the creek to Gookin's Falls, at 
Center Rutland, and thence to Sutherland Falls and onward down the creek 
until Lake Champlain was reached. The canoes were carried around all 
the falls. 

The Melvin expedition, composed of eighteen men, passed through this 
territory eighteen years afterward, and followed nearly the same route ; he 
started on a military expedition May 13, 1748, from Fort Dummer, continued 
up the Connecticut to Number Four (Charlestown), and then followed the 
Black River. On the 19th the party " crossed several large streams, being 
branches of the Otter Creek." Saw many signs of the enemy, both old and 
new, such as camps, trees girdled, etc. On the 20th they marched over the 
Otter Creek and around the Sutherland Falls. Further along they found sev- 
eral camps of the previous winter and beaten paths made by the enemy. On 
the 24th they came upon a camp fenced in with a very thick fence, where was 
found a keg of about four gallons which appeared to be newly emptied of 
wine, as plainly appeared by the smell, and about twelve pounds of good 
French bread. They reached Lake Champlain and this point on the 28th, and 
had a skirmish with a party of Indians. They then began a retreat, being 
pursued by about one hundred and fifty of the enemy. They again came to 
the banks of the Otter Creek, in Pittsford, about a mile below Sutherland 
F'alls and marched to Center Rutland where they camped. Thence they fol- 



The Colonial Period. 49 



lowed up the Otter Creek to the head of one of its branches Before arriving 
at Fort Dummer Captain Melvin's party had another skirmish with the enemy, 
and his party was scattered and four men killed, one wounded and one taken 
prisoner. 

During the struggle between France and England for territorial possession 
the settlements of the French were separated from the colonies of New York 
and New England ; Vermont only separated them. Its territory was, there- 
fore, frequently passed over by military expeditions to Canada, the American 
soldiers traveling the wilderness by means of paths indicated by marked trees. 
Army supplies could only be transported in packs on horseback, and even this 
was accomplished with much difficulty. The route from Canada to the Con- 
necticut was by the way of Lake Champlain and Black River. There was an 
old path which was called Indian Road. Massachusetts, feeling the necessity 
of a road for facilitating the military operations of the government, in 1756 
considered the feasibility of constructing a military road between the Connect- 
icut River and Lake Champlain opposite Crown Point, and the Legislature of 
that State made provision for a survey to ascertain "the distance and practica- 
bility of a communication between Number Four, on the Connecticut River, 
and Crown Point by the way of Otter Creek," and that the course of the 
creek, its depth of water, its falls, the nature of the soil and the growth of 
woods near it, should be reported. A fort was also projected on the height of 
land between the Black River and the Otter Creek, the surveys were made to 
the top of the Green Mountains, but there was no attempt to build either tlie 
road or the fort, the pending hostilities rendering it hazardous. In 1759, how- 
ever, a military road was laid out by General Amherst, from what is now 
Charlestown, N. H., to Crown Point. The enlisted men of New Hampshire 
and Massachusetts were quartered at Crown Point, and the object of building 
the road was for transporting troops and baggage between the two localities 
named. Two hundred men, under the command of Captain John Stark, en- 
tered upon the construction of the road. The work began at Crown Point and 
a good wagon road was first constructed to the Otter Creek. Lieutenant- Col- 
onel Hawks then cut a bridle path over the mountain, but did not complete 
the work ; the reason for his abandoning his purpose has never been explained. 
In 1760 New Hampshire soldiers constructed a new road from Number Four 
to Ludlow where the bridle path of Colonel Hawks ended. They followed 
the bridle path to Otter Creek and thence on to Crown Point. They could 
transport the military stores in wagons to Ludlow and thence by bridle on 
horses. There were two branches, and the first branch was only in use prior 
to 1759, passing through Rutland, from what was called the Little Falls, and 
Center Rutland. The second branch ran north from what is now Main street 
in Rutland, going north and intersecting the first branch in Pittsford. 

Mr. Elias Hall, whose father was in the army of General Amherst, made 



50 



History of Rutland Countv. 



some years ago substantially the following statement : When nineteen years of 
age he accompanied his father to look over the scenes of his father's military 
service. Crown Point and Chimney Point being only half a mile apart, the old 
French road starting on the Vermont shore of the lake, his father traveled 
the route on his way home from the fort in 1759, and passed through East 
Shoreham and Whiting. Fort Mott, at Pittsford, was on the line of his route 
and near the road from Pittsford to the corner of Main and West streets in 
Rutland, where another fort is understood to have been located ; thence the 
route ran through Clarendon, Shrewsbury, and Mount Holly, Ludlow, Caven- 
dish and on to Number Four, (or Charlestown, N. H.) This is a description 
in brief of the route of the old French or military road connecting Crown 
Point with the Connecticut River. The details of this route along the various 
points it passed and its boundaries will receive further attention in subsequent 
pages. Many towns, however, have claimed to have been on the line through 
which it did not go, especially in the western section of the county. 



CHAPTER IV. 

the new YORK CONTROVERSY. 

The Grounds of the Controversy — Issue of Conflicting Patents— Schedule of Patents and Date of 
Issue— Difficulties Engendered in Attempts to Eject Settlers— A Military Organization under Ethan 
Allen — Lydius's Claim and Grants under it — The First .\rrest and Trial — Other Incidents — Benjamin 
Hough's Offense and Punishment — Proclamations and Counter-Proclamations — The Controversy 
Quieted by the Opening of the Revolutionary Struggle. 

BUT a brief reference can be made to the long and bitter controversy with 
the authorities of New York, which caused so much annoyance and trouble 
to the early settlers on the New Hampshire Grants. It was a controversy 
which was to decide the strength of New York laws and the fate of the settlers 
on the territory now constituting the county of Rutland, as well as the sur- 
rounding Vicinity. The situation of affairs that led to this historical contro- 
versy may be briefly stated as follows : — 

On the loth of April, 1765, a proclamation was issued bj- Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor Colden, of New York, giving a copy of an order of the king in council 
of the 20th of July preceding, declaring the boundary line between New Hamp- 
shire and New York to be the Connecticut River, and notifying his majesty's 
subjects to govern themselves accordingly. 

That a twenty mile line from the Hudson, extending northerly to Lake 
Champlain, was the eastern boundary of New York, is proven bj' the charter 



The New York Controversy. 51 

title of the Duke of York upon his accession to the throne in 16S5, making 
New York a royal province. The disputed territory had been repeatedly and 
uniformly recognized by the king's government as belonging to the Province 
of New Hampshire, and never to that of New York. 

The king, in 1 741, commissioned Benning Wentworth governor of New 
Hampshire, describing his province as reaching westward " iintil it met his 
other governments " thus bounding it westerly by New York. Governor Went- 
worth, with authority from the king to grant his lands, issued charters of over 
one hundred townships, each of six miles square, within such territory. Among 
these charters nearly all the land in the present Rutland county had been 
granted in sixteen different townships, viz. : Brandon (by the name of Neshobe), 
Castleton (by the name of Harwich), Pawlet, Pittsford, Poultney, Rutland, Sher- 
burne, Shrewsbury, Sudbury, Tinmouth, Wallingford and Wells. 

Meanwhile, and soon after the issue of the proclamation of Lieutenant- 
Governor Golden, he began the issue of patents in the present territory of Rut- 
land county, and by the following November had granted about twelve hun- 
dred acres under what were termed military patents, chiefly in Benson, Fair- 
haven and Pawlet. The military patents entire that were granted in the 
county embraced more than 26,000 acres, all of which patents, except one 
thousand acres, were made in direct contravention of the order of the king, 
of July 24, 1767, forbidding the New York governors from making such grants. 
The last patents embraced lands in Pawlet, Wells, Poultney, Castleton, Fair- 
haven and Benson. Although these military patents were ostensibly a re- 
ward for military service, they were in reality made for the benefit of land 
speculators. The grants made for purposes of settlement were not to exceed 
one thousand acres each, and to only one individual ; these were termed civil 
grants. The following compilation from the records of New York patents 
shows the date of each patent, the name of the leading patentee, the location 
of the tract and the number of acres as far as relates to Rutland county : — 

1770, May 20, Kelso, Tinmouth, 21,500 acres; August i, Hutton, Shrews- 
bury, 12,000 acres; September 8, Wm. Faquar, Benson, 5,000 acres. 

1 77 1, February 28, Adam Gilchrist, Poultney, 12,000 acres; April 3, So- 
cialborough, Rutland, Pittsford ant! Clarendon, 48,000 acres; June 12, Hales- 
borough, Brandon, 23,000 acres; June 24, Newry, Shrewsbury, Sherburne and 
Mendon, 37,000 acres; June 28, Richmond, Wells and vicinity, 24,000 acres. 

1772, January 7, Durham, Clarendon and Wallingford, 32,000 acres ; Feb- 
ruary 20, John Tudor, Danby, 1,000 acres; November 6, Henry Van Vleck, 
Ira, 5,000 acres ; June 19, John Thompson, Pawlet, 2,000 acres. Making in 
all 222,500 acres. 

The patent of Socialborough bore date April 3, 1771, and the grant covered 
about 48,000 acres, as stated, forming a tract thirteen miles in length and six 
in width, and was nearly identical with the New Hampshire townships of Rut- 



52 



History of Rutland County. 



land and Pittsford. The patent of Durham, which was issued by Governor 
Tryon, bore date January 7, 1772, and included most, if not all, of the land in 
the township of Clarendon, which had been chartered by New Hampshire Sep- 
tember 5, 1761. 

It was well known in New York that these lands had long been granted by 
New Hampshire, and were actually occupied under such grants, and the new 
patents were procured in utter disregard of the rights and claims of the settlers. 
So all attempts to survey the new patents, or to eject the present holders, were 
met with sturdy resistance on the part of the settlers, and thus it came about 
that those who opposed the authority of New York were stigmatized as " riot- 
ers," " conspirators," and " wanton disturbers of the public peace," while the 
" Yorkers " were in turn called " land jobbers," " land pirates," etc. 

Of the many personal collisions that grew out of this state of affairs, we can 
refer to only a few ; others will be found described in the various town his- 
tories. Committees were appointed for local protection from the operations of 
the New York speculators, and towards the latter part of the year 17713 mil- 
itary organization was instituted with Ethan Allen in command. The duties 
of this body were to watch for and report in their several neighborhoods any 
hostile movements of their adversaries, and to hold themselves in readiness to 
move to any part of the threatened territory whither they were directed for the 
defense of the interests of the settlers. 

The first settlement was made in Clarendon about 1768, under a lease from 
one John Henry Lydius, an Indian trader and native of Albany. He claimed 
title to a very large tract of land on Otter Creek, by virtue of a deed from some 
Mohawk Indians, dated in 1732, and a pretended confirmation by the king 
through Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, in 1744. This claim aroused the 
" Green Mountain Boys," who at once determined to put a stop to this en- 
croachment. They determined that none of the New York officers living in 
the disputed territory should be permitted to perform any official acts, and that 
in order to separate the interests of the inhabitants of Durham from those of 
their New York associates, the latter should be required to acknowledge the 
validity of the New Hampshire title by purchasing and holding under it ; and 
that if mild measures should not be found sufficient to carry into effect these 
resolutions, forcible means should be resorted to. 

This soon led to open hostilities against the New York adherents, and es- 
pecially Benjamin Spencer, of Clarendon. Under the lead of Ethan Allen and 
Remember Baker, on Sunday night, the 20th of November, a party of twenty 
or thirty men took Spencer into custody and kept him until Monday morning, 
by which time the number of Green Mountain Boys had increased to over one 
hundred. Before beginning Spencer's trial, Allen addressed the people, in- 
forming them that he and others had been appointed " to inspect and set things 
in order, and to see that there should be no intruders on the grants, and de- 



The New York Controversy. 53 

daring that Clarendon [then Durham] had become a hornet's nest that must 
be broken up." The trial then began, Spencer being accused of " cuddling 
with the land-jobbers of New York to prevent claimants of the New Hamp- 
shire rights from holding the lands which they claimed, and with issuing a war- 
rant as justice of the peace contrary to orders ; and with endeavoring to seduce 
and inviegle the people to be subject to the laws and government of the colony 
of New York." 

Spencer was found guilty and his house declared to be a nuisance, and sen- 
tence was passed that it should be burned to the ground, and that he should 
promise that he would not in the future act as a justice of the peace under au- 
thority from New York. On an appeal from Spencer the sentence was recon- 
sidered, and it was decided that the house should not be wholly destroyed, but 
only the roof should be taken off and might be put on again, provided Spencer 
should declare that it was so put on under the New Hampshire title, and should 
purchase a right under the charter of that province. Spencer, promising com- 
pliance with these terms, the Green Mountain Boys proceeded to remove the 
roof " with great shouting, much noise and tumult." On a further promise 
that he would not act again as magistrate, Spencer was discharged from cus- 
tody. A part of the company then visited the house of the New York coro- 
ner, named Jenny, and finding him absent and his house deserted, set it on fire 
and it was burned to the ground. Most of the inhabitants of Clarendon who 
held under the New York patents were also visited, and, upon their being 
threatened, agreed to purchase under the New Hampshire title. The New 
York narrative of this invasion of Clarendon said : " The men composing the 
mob conducted themselves in a coarse, boisterous and blustering manner, using 
very violent as well as profane language, threatening destruction and death to 
those who should fail to acknowledge the New Hampshire title and become its 
advocates." 

These incidents serve to illustrate the measures of the Green Mountain 
Boys during those troubled times, as well as the spirit of the people and the 
temper of the period of the long and bitter controversy. Many manifestoes, 
appeals and other documents were issued and negotiations attempted, and vio- 
lent measures adopted against the New York claimants, until they, in general, 
became unwilling to further incur the displeasure of the Vermonters. 

One notable instance, which occurred in Rutland county, will serve to illus- 
trate the punishments inflicted at times on the interlopers and sympathizers 
with the hated authority. Benjamin Hough not only occupied land in Claren- 
don under a New York patent, but during his residence, from 1773, had been 
an odious advocate of that title, although he claimed to have agreed for that 
of New Hampshire. In 1774, after a visit to New York, he returned with a 
commission as justice of the peace, and was loud in his denunciations of rioters 
and active in the exercise of his office as a magistrate. He was warned verb- 



54 History of Rutland County. 

ally and in writing to desist from the further exercise of his official authority, 
and threatened with punishment if he persisted. He set these warnings at de- 
fiance and the indignation against him became very great, and it was deter- 
mined to make an example of him such as would silence him and deter others 
from a similar course. He was accordingly seized by a party of his neighbors 
in Clarendon, placed in a sleigh and taken thirty miles to Sunderland, where 
he was kept for three days under strict guard, until Monday, the 30th day of 
January, 1775, when he was tried. He was found guilty and sentenced "to 
be tied to a tree and receive two hundred lashes on the naked back, and then, 
as soon as he should be able, should depart the New Hampshire Grants and 
not return again until his majesty's pleasure should be known in the premises, 
on pain of receiving five hundred lashes." This sentence was read to him by 
Ethan Alien and immediately put into execution. He was then given a pass 
couched in the following terms : " This may certify to the inhabitants of the 
New Hampshire Grants that Benjamin Hough hath this day received a full 
punishment for his crimes committed heretofore against this country, and our 
inhabitants are ordered to give the said Hough free and unmolested passport 
toward the cit)- of New York, or to the westward of our grants, he behaving as 
becometh." 

This chastisement of Hough seems to have been the last act of personal 
violence to which the claimants under New York, as such, were subjected by 
the Green Mountain Boys in this county during the colonial period, and open 
resistance ceased from that time. 

Another prominent feature of the controversy was the issuing of proclama- 
tions by the New York authorities, which only served to increase the antipathy 
of the settlers. The proclamation for the arrest of Allen and his associates was 
treated by them with defiant contempt, and in return they issued and exten- 
sively circulated in this county a burlesque proclamation over their own sig- 
natures, of which the following is the text : — 

"25 Pounds Rcivard. 
" Whereas, James Duane and John Kempe, of New York, have by their 
menaces and threats, greatly disturbed the public peace and repose of the hon- 
est peasants of Bennington, and the settlements to the northward, which peas- 
ants are now and ever have been in the peace of God and the king and are 
patriotic and liege subjects of George HI, any person will apprehend those 
common disturbers, viz., James Duane and John Kempe, and bring them to 
Landlord Fay's at Bennington, shall receive £\l reward for James Duane and 
£\o for John Kempe, Paid by 

" Ethan Allen, 
" Remember Baker, 
" Robert Cockran. 
" Dated Poultney, Feb'y 5, 1772." 



The Revolutionary Era. 55 

Many of the most stirring events of this bitter controversy occurred in tliis 
county, the records of which have passed into general liistory, and aroused the 
people of the New Hampshire Grants to put forth their highest efforts for the 
protection of their homes and their rights. The intellectual, as well as the 
physical, nature and strength of the leaders was developed. In perusing the 
records of those transactions the living expression of the times is caught. The 
actors therein were men of courage and intellect ; they were a plain, industri- 
ous, hardy race of men, who emigrated hither to cultivate the soil and secure 
a competency for themselves and their children. They cared not under what 
government they came, if permitted to enjoy unmolested the hard-earned fruits 
of their industry. 

The opening of the Revolutionary War found the inhabitants of this section 
thus engaged in the controversy for the title to their lands and the government 
which they chose, and it is difficult to conceive what would have been the issue 
of the controversy had not its progress been arrested by the great struggle for 
freedom, which dwarfed all minor troubles. The inhabitants hereabouts soon 
began to feel their importance in the oncoming contest ; and their own imme- 
diate safety, as well as a strong sympathy with the general hostility to the 
mother country, led them to take an early and prominent part in the com- 
mon cause. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA. 

Inherent Patriotism of the People — Prepared for the First Call — Capture of Ticonderoga — Dif- 
ferent Sentiments Existing Among and Actuating the Inhabitants — Effect of the Approach of Bur- 
goyne's Army — Mercilessness Shown to Tories — Results in Vermont of Burgoyne's Surrender — 
Faithfulness of Vermonters to the Cause of Patriotism. 

THE opening of the Revolutionary War found the people of Rutland county 
substantially independent, obeying only the orders and decrees of com- 
mittees, conventions and town meetings. The inhabitants of this region took 
an active and patriotic part in the war. The leaders had been well prepared 
to enter with enthusiasm and vigor into the contest for American liberty, by 
sharing in the general hostility to the arbitrary measures of the British crown 
and ministry, and by sympathy with their friends in Massachusetts and Con- 
necticut, whence they had emigrated. 

The people were well aware of the great importance of the posts on their 
frontier in the approaching conflict. When, therefore, a few days after the 



56 History of Rutland County. 

battle of Lexington, messengers arrived from Connecticut for the purpose of 
collecting forces to make an attack on Ticonderoga, they found a body of men 
with their spirits and minds already prepared for the expedition. The old 
military corps which had done effective service in guarding the territory from 
the intrusions of the emissaries of the New York government was speedily 
mustered and on the march. The immediate result of this expedition was the 
well-known surrender of the fortress, the importance of which at that critical 
time can scarcely be over-estimated ; its details and an account of the battle 
of Hubbardton are given a little farther on. 

The prescribed limits of this work will not admit of an extended account 
of the part taken by the people of this county, as individuals, in the great strug- 
gle that gave the country its liberty. Their deeds, and those of their com- 
patriots, are written in ever-living lines on the pages of general history. Some 
of the more prominent features of the contest, bearing a local character, may, 
however, be alluded to. 

There were, perhaps, at the opening of the Revolution, one-half of the 
people to whom the coming contest was grateful. There were those, too, 
who in the troublous times had neglected their own private affairs and were 
now in embarrassed circumstances. Habits in a measure forced upon them, 
had unfitted some for a quiet occupation. These were, of course, ready for 
any change by which something might possibly " turn up." There were a 
few who took a comprehensive view of the whole subject and, from truly pa- 
triotic motives, were ready to risk everything for the great principles of polit- 
ical freedom. Unfortunately these were not generally men of influence and 
property. But when a British army of more than seven thousand men came 
marching from the North, the leading men of the county were filled with in- 
dignation, to say nothing of other feelings that animated them. The progress 
of that army was slow, but so much the better calculated to spread alarm. 
Tories began to declare themselves in proportion to the nearness of its ap- 
proach. Names of men suspected or known as Tories, who lived in all parts of 
this region, were spoken, the Council of Safety met often and the several towns 
in this county received especial attention, as well as those surrounding. 

As Burgoyne's army approached, the excitement increased. Companies 
of men on both sides were scouring the country in search of recruits and pro- 
visions. The houses and fields of suspected Tories were mercilessly plun- 
dered. Clothing and other necessary articles of furniture were carried off. 
Every contrivance was resorted to for concealment. Cattle were driven to the 
mountains. The family supplies of beef and pork were buried in the earth. 
Even the less perishable articles of furniture were disposed of in the same 
manner. It was a period of great anxiety and alarm. The settlers along 
Lake Champlain and as far south as Manchester, had either submitted to Bur- 
goyne and taken his protection, or were abandoning their positions and re- 



The Revolutionary Era. 57 

moving to the southward. When it became knou-n that an army of Hessians 
and Indians were approaching, the people flocked towards Bennington, taking 
with them such of their most valuable property as could be hastily collected 
and transported. The more timid and prudent passed on beyond, while others 
made such preparations as they could for a sudden removal and waited further 
developments. Any attempt to describe the painful anxiety that prevailed 
during that period as to the result of the near contest would be vain. That, 
as well as the rush of overwhelming joy and exultation which followed the vic- 
tory, can only be imagined. The victory was a proud one for the people of 
the country, and an ominous presage of the later overthrow of Burgoyne. 

Although the capture of Burgoyne and his army in the fall of 1777 was a 
most fortunate event in the Revolutionary struggle, it left Lake Champlain 
and the strong fortresses of Ticonderoga and Crown Point in the possession of 
the enemy, and Vermont, during the remaining five years of the war, constantly 
exposed to their incursions. The occupation of those forts by a strong Brit- 
ish force also gave countenance and encouragement to the loyalists in northern 
New York and Vermont and kept the inhabitants of Rutland county in a state 
of almost continual apprehension and alarm. 

During the remaining period of the war the State was under the necessity 
of maintaining a permanent guard on the borders of her territory, to which the 
people of Rutland county contributed their full proportion of men and means. 
They were also subject to orders to march in a body to the frontier on many 
occasions of apprehended or actual invasion by the enemy. Vermont at that 
period was weak in numbers, but she was strong in the justice of her cause, in 
nerve and in patriotism. From the morning of May loth, 1775, when the 
dawn found Ethan Allen at Ticonderoga, until the evening of the last day of 
the Rc\olution, the men of Rutland county were found, whenever and where 
ever the enemy appeared, foremost in attack and last in retreat. In 1775 a 
regiment was sent to Canada ; its brilliant exploits at Longuiel form a page of 
heroic history. In 1776, when the Continental army was formed under Colo- 
nel Warner, they served with honor throughout the war. The men of the 
county were in constant service, and when their own territory was invaded, 
the whole population was under arms Ticonderoga, Longuiel, Hubbardton, 
Bennington and Saratoga, bear testimony of the patriotism and valor of the 
people of Rutland count)'. 



58 History of Rutland County. 



CHAPTER VI. 





THE BATTLE OF HL BBARDTOX. 


Effects of Uie Battle — 


(■nndilion of the I'eojile Immediately Tieceding the Affair — Colonel War- 


ner's Appeal to the Vermc 


mt Convention — General St. Clair's Appreciation — Effects of the .\ban- 


Monment of Ticomlerog.-i — 


The Retreat — The Attack — .\nen's Detailed Description of the Battle — 


Incidents. 





THE events at Hubbardton in July, and Bennington in August, 1777, caused 
the flood tide of invasion from the North to ebb. They led immediately 
to the important results at Saratoga in October ; also the appreciation by the 
courts of Europe of the powers of the American soldiery and the ability of the 
colonists to maintain the cause of independence. It led to an open treaty of 
alliance between the United States and France just seven months after the bat- 
tle of Hubbardton. It was the prophecy of the surrender of Yorktown. 

A brief statement of the condition of the people just preceding this engage- 
ment will be of interest as preliminary to an account of the battle. The peo- 
ple of Western Vermont were in much alarm from the apprehension of an in- 
vasion by the British army from Canada, under General Burgoyne, for which 
preparations had been made under the direction of the English ministry. An 
army often thousand veterans, one-half of them German hirelings, equipped 
and furnished with every warlike material that wealth and skill could' supply, 
had been collected in that province and attended by a formidable body of sav- 
ages, and a corps of Tories, was approaching the American post at Ticonder- 
oga. Its commanding general confidently expected, after an easy conquest 
of that post, to march triumphantly through the country to the seaboard, 
crushing all opposition to British rule. General St. Clair, who commanded at 
Ticonderoga, had sent Colonel Seth Warner to gather reinforcements from the 
militia; Colonel Moses Robinson's regiment was already at Hubbardton, and 
others were on their way. 

On the second of July Colonel Warner wrote the State Convention, then in 
session at Windsor, that he had just received an express from General St. 
Clair, who expected an attack at any hour and who had ordered him to call 
out the militia of this State, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and join him 
as soon as possible. This letter also asked all the men that could possibly be 
enlisted, saying that the safety of the post depended on the exertions of the 
country ; that their lines were extensive and but partially manned for want of 
men. Warner, in the same communication, makes this graphic appeal : " I 
should be glad if a few hills of corn unhoed should not be a motive sufficient 
to detain men at home, considering that the loss of such an important post 
can hardly be remedied." On the receipt of this letter by the convention, a 



The Battle of Hubbardton. 59 

communication was sent to the General Assembly of New Hampshire, then in 
session at Exeter, enclosing Warner's appeal for help, and adding that the mi- 
litia from this State were principally with the officer commanding the Conti- 
nental army at Ticonderoga, the remainder on their march for the relief of 
that distressed post, and requesting further aid from that State. Colonel 
Joseph Bowker, of Rutland, president of the convention, immediately wrote 
General St. Clair, giving information of what had been done and the exertions 
being made to aid him. 

The efforts of the Vermont Convention for the relief of Ticonderga were 
duly appreciated by General St. Clair. He wrote a letter from Colonel Mead's 
in Rutland, dated July 7, giving a brief explanation of the necessity he was 
under to evacuate the post at Ticonderoga, in which he remarks: "The exer- 
tions of the convention to re-enforce us at Ticonderoga merit my warmest 
thanks, though they have been too late to answer the good purpose for 
which they were intended." In another letter General St. Clair says : " I have 
just now received a letter from General Schuyler, directing that Colonel War- 
ner's regiment, of your State, should be left for the protection of the people." 
He gave information to the Vermont Convention that he was proceeding to 
join General Schuyler as fast as possible, and hoped that there would be suffi- 
cient force called to check the force of the enemy, and added that " your con- 
ventions have given such proofs of their readiness to concur in any measure 
for the public safety, that it would be impertinent to press them now." 

By the retreat of the American army from Ticonderoga, the whole west- 
ern frontier of the State north of Massachusetts, comprising more than half of 
the inhabitants residing west of the Green Mountains, was left wholly unpro- 
tected and exposed to the immediate ravages of the enemy. General Bur- 
goyne had issued a boastful proclamation threatening ruin and destruction to 
all who should oppose him, but offering protection and security to those who 
should remain peaceabl}- at their homes, and payment in gold for any provi- 
sions they might furnish. Many who were not his well-wishers, in the dis- 
tressed and apparently desperate condition in which they suddenly found 
themselves, felt it necessary to accept his written proclamation, while others, 
more patriotic or in a better situation to remove, fled to the southward with 
such of their effects as they were able to take with them. Some of these fu- 
gitives stopped with their friends in the south part of the State, while others 
passed further on. No part of the territory could be considered safe against 
any rapid incursion of the enemy, especially as a considerable number in their 
midst were believed to be friendly to the invaders, and alarm and confusion 
everywhere prevailed. 

By the 5th of July Colonel Seth Warner had reached Ticonderoga with 
nine hundred militia, mostly from Vermont, but the fort even after this re-en- 
forcement was altogether untenable against the well-appointed army of Bur- 



6o History of Rutland County. 

goyne. On the evening of that day a council of war dictated that the fort 
should be abandoned before daylight the next morning, which was done. All 
the cannon and most of the provisions and military stores fell into the hands of 
the enemy, and the army retreated rapidly toward Castleton. 

The retreat began about two o'clock in the morning of the 6th, when St. 
Clair and the garrison left the fort, and about three o'clock the troops on 
Mount Independence were put in motion and a part were conveyed to Skenes- 
boro (now Whitehall) in bateau.x, while the main body of the army proceeded 
by land on the old military road, which had been cut during the preceding war 
from Number Four, now Charlestown, N. H., to Ticonderoga. The retreat 
was conducted in silence, unobserved by the enemy, until a fire by acci- 
dent was set which illuminated the whole of Mount Independence, and at once 
revealed their movements to the enemy. At about four o'clock the rear guard 
of the American army left Mount Independence and were brought off b}' Col- 
onel Francis in good order. When the troops reached this place they were 
halted about two hours. Here the rear guard was placed under the command 
of Colonel Seth Warner, with orders to follow as soon as those behind came 
up. General St. Clair, with the main body, reached Castleton on the 6th of 
July. 

The retreat from Ticonderoga was no sooner discovered b)' the British than 
a pursuit was made by General Fraser, who was soon followed by General 
Reidsel with a greater part of the British forces. Fraser continued the pur- 
suit during the day, and having learned that the Americans were not far off, 
he ordered an encampment for the night. Early on the morning of the 7th 
he renewed the pursuit and at seven o'clock the engagement commenced. 
General Fraser made an attack upon tlu- Americans while they were at break- 
fast. The force under Warner's command consisted of Green Mountain Boys, 
Colonel Haile's regiment of Connecticut River men, with a Massachusetts reg- 
ment under Colonel Francis, amounting to nearly 1,000 men. Those under 
General Fraser were 2,000 strong, according to the account given by Ethan 
Allen in his narrative Much reliance is to be placed on Allen's statements, 
as he undoubtedly had it from Warner himself as well as from the confes- 
sions made to him while a prisoner in England by officers of the English 
army. 

The following description of the battle is in Allen's ]>eculiarly graphic and 
descriptive language. 

He says: "The 6th day of July, 1777, General St. Clair and the army un- 
der his command evacuated Ticonderoga and returned with the main body 
to Hubbardton into Castleton, which was six miles distant, when his rear guard, 
commanded by Colonel Seth Warner, was attacked at Hubbardton by a body 
of the enemy about 2,000 strong, commanded b)' General Fraser. Warner's 
commanil consisted of his own and two other resjiments, viz., Francis and 



The Battle of Hubbardton. 6i 



Haile, and some scattered and enfeebled soldiers. His wTiole number, accord- 
ing to information, was near or quite i,000 men, part of which were Green 
Mountain Boys. About 700 were brought into action. The enemy advanced 
boldly and the two bodies formed within about sixty yards of each other. 
Colonel Warner, having formed his own regiment and that of Colonel Francis, 
did not wait for the enemy, but gave tiiem a heavy fire from his whole line, 
and they returned it with great bravery. It was by this time dangerous for 
those of both parties who were not prepared for the world to come. But Colonel 
Haile, being apprized of the danger, never brought his regiment to the charge, 
but left Warner and his men to stand the blowing of it and fled, but luckily fell 
in with an inconsiderable number of the enemy, and to his eternal shame, sur- 
rendered himself a prisoner. An English account gives their loss in killed 
and wounded at 183 including among the former twenty officers. The Amer- 
ican loss is estimated at about 324 killed, wounded and prisoners. 

The conflict was very bloody. Colonel Francis fell in the battle, but Col- 
onel Warner and the officers under his command, as also the soldiery, behaved 
with great resolution. The enemy broke and gave way on the right and left, 
but formed again and renewed the attack. In the mean time the British gren- 
adiers in the center of the enemy's line maintained the ground, and finally car- 
ried it with the point of the bayonet, and Warner retreated with reluctance. 
Our loss was about thirty men killed, and that of the enemy amounting to three 
hundred killed, including a Major Grant. 

After Warner's men had thrown them into disorder, they formed and again 
advanced upon the Americans, who in their turn fell back. At this critical 
moment General Reidsel arrived with a reinforcement, and led them immedi- 
ately into action, and decided the fortunes of the day. 

The battle of Hubbardton, although the number engaged was compara- 
tively small, was one of the most determined and severe on record. If it was 
a British victory it was dearly purchased. But had it been an American vic- 
tory it would not have lessened the sorrow for the fall of the gallant Colonel 
Francis. 

The general account of this engagement has passed into the history of the 
county and more of the details and documentary evidence need not be given. 
A few personal incidents, however, will be of interest to illustrate the charac- 
ter and sufferings of the people of this section in the few days of terror before 
and after the battle. 

About half a mile east of Castleton village on the northwest corner of the 
east and west road and the Hubbardton road, stood the house of George Foote, 
where religious worship was held on the Sabbath. Upon the corner opposite 
was a school-house. A mile and a half north of this, on the Hubbardton road, 
lived Captain John Hall. Still further north, on what is known as the Ransom 
farm, was a building appropriated to recruits. On the Sabbath, July 6, while the 



62 History of Rutland County. 

people were gathered for religious worship, the alarm is given that the enemy- 
is approaching. At the same time the recruits come flying down the road and 
take shelter in the school-house and in the house of Mr. Foote. Women and 
children take shelter in the cellar. There is brisk firing from both sides for a 
considerable time, but the casualties are few, the one party covered by the trees 
of the forest. There is a closer conflict. Captain Williams, a volunteer from 
Guilford, Vt., is wounded in the groin, but will not yield ; and in a hand to- 
hand fight, deals a heavy blow upon a British lieutenant. He is then bay- 
oneted through the body, and expires in a few moments. Captain John Hall 
receives a shot in the leg, and as he lies profusely bleeding calls for water. As 
his wife is bringing it to him, a Tory named Jones kicks the dish from her 
hands. Captain Hall died of his wounds not long after. One of the British 
infantry was mortally wounded and another shot through the body ; but re- 
covered through the kind attention of Mrs. Hall — rendering good for evil. One 
of Captain Williams's sons was wounded in the heel in the early part of the 
engagement and fled to the woods. He finally reached Rutland in a famish- 
ing condition. Two sons of Captain Hall, Elias and Alpheus, George Foot 
and others, were taken prisoners and carried to Ticonderoga, but made their 
escape after a few weeks. The body of Captain Williams, wrapped in a blanket, 
without a coffin, was rudely buried at the foot of a tree near by. Forty-four 
years after his remains were disinterred and the bones carefully gathered and 
laid together in e.xact order by Luther Deming — a man perfectly blind — and 
reburied in the village graveyard with appropriate ceremonies. Captain Wil- 
liams had been at Ticonderoga during the French War, and was anxious to 
go there again. 

After this most unequal conflict, in which the British, Tories and Indians 
outnumbered nearly ten to one, the victorious part}- returned to Hubbardton, 
rifling houses and gathering plunder on their way. It was on this same day 
that General St. Clair evacuated Ticonderoga, and marched his forces to Cas- 
tleton. His route was by the old military road to Hubbardton, thence south 
by the Hubbardton road. The van of St. Clair's army encamped that night 
near the place where Williams and Hall had just fallen. One division of the 
army under Colonol Bellows encamped about two miles south of Hubbardton. 
The foraging party engaged in the skirmish at Castleton came near falling into 
the hands of St. Clair's army on their return ; but meeting some of his soldiers 
who were straying in advance, they learned of the approach of the army, and, 
taking these prisoners, they turned into the woods, and so escaped. They en- 
camped that night within a short distance of Colonel Warner's command — so 
near, says Mr. Hall, one of the prisoners, that the noise of the battle was dis- 
tinctly heard, and great anxiet}- was felt as to who were the combatants and 
what the result. The same party commanded bj- Captain Sherwood took 
several more [prisoners in Hubbardton, all of whom they carried to Ticon- 
deroga. 



The Battle of Hubbardton. 63 

There is a question who was the commander of this foraging party. Lieu- 
tenant Hall, a prisoner with the party, says it was commanded by Captain 
Fraser. Thompson's history says the same. Other authorities say that Cap- 
tain Fraser was certainly on the west side of the lake, a few days before, lead- 
ing the attack on the American lines. 

Besides, Captain Sherwood is said to have been the commander of the 
foraging party in Hubbardton which was probably the same as that at Cas- 
tleton. 

A single incident may here be stated. Sometime in 1828 Rev. Joseph 
Steele, pastor of of the Congregational Church at Castleton, met an aged man 
in Kingsboro, N. Y., a worthy deacon in the Congregational Church, who was 
in the battle, and who gave him the following particulars. He stated that his 
mess were just making their breakfast, when they were saluted by a volley of 
musketry. That the nemy came up over a rise of ground on the west, and 
rushed down upon their encampment. The Americans were soon formed, 
and the battle raged fiercely. Compelled to retreat, they fled eastward down 
through the valley and then up a steep hill ; halting occasionally and firing 
upon their pursuers — and that passing over the hill or mountain, they made 
their way to Rutland. " When climbing the hill," he added, " my coat col- 
lar was cut away by a musket ball." He had not visited the p-lace since, but 
his description of the ground was perfect. After this battle, St. Clair proceded 
to Fort Edward and joined General Schuyler. The British forces advanced 
to Castleton, where they remained for several weeks — one regiment, under 
General Fraser, encamping in the west side of the town, the other, under Gen- 
eral Riedsel, a little to the east of the village, where the skirmish had been. 
During the events above described there were times of great excitement, and 
some families fled in alarm ; but the greater part remained. The year follow- 
ing the battle of Hubbardton a fort was built near -the spot where the first 
blood had been spilled in Castleton, furnished with two cannon, and garri- 
soned under different commanders till the close of the war. All able-bodied 
men in the settlement were enrolled as minute-men, ready to repair to the fort 
at the call of the signal gun. " Many soldiers' graves, whose names have long 
since been forgotten, a few years ago were visible near the site of the fort." 

The following incident will illustrate the trials of those trying days: Very 
early one morning the alarm gun is heard and Mr. Lake, living a mile and a 
half from the fort, shoulders his gun and obeys the summons, leaving his wife 
and two children unprotected in their log cabin, remote from any neighbor. 
Soon a Mrs. Eaton who lived one-fourth of a mile distant, came flying in with 
her two children hurried from their bed, greatly alarmed. In her haste she 
had left her bread in the oven and her children without anything to eat. What 
can these mothers do ? Terrified and alarmed they resolved to flee for safety, 
although it was still dark and raining fast. With all possiblle haste they make 



64 History of Rutland County. 

their way over hills through the woods, quite to the southern border of the 
township to the house of a Mr. Richmond. It was a difficult and fatiguing 
tramp, wet and weary, the children crying from hunger and cold ; they rejoice 
at the sight of a habitation, and hope for shelter and warmth. As they ap- 
proach the door, the voice of prayer from within fills them with joy. They 
listen — but what is their dismay when they hear loud and earnest petitions 
for the triumph of the British arms, and the overthrow and destruction of all 
who oppose. It is the prayer of a Tory. Wet and weary as they are — and 
the children crying for bread, they turn away with indignation to look for some 
more kindly shelter. Many other incidents equally touching there were, no 
doubt, which have not been preserved, but from this we get a glimpse of those 
trying times. 

It should be remembered the battle of Hubbardton occurred at a dark 
period of the Revolution. When General Burgoyne commenced his campaign 
Washington had been driven from New York and the American forces from 
Canada. 

Colonel Warner ordered his men to meet him at Manchester, when the 
remnant of the regiment, mustering about one hundred and fifty effective 
men, assembled a few days afterward. General St. Clair, with the main body 
of his army, took a circuitous route to the Hudson River by way of Rutland, 
Dorset and Arlington, and joined General Schuyler at Fort Edward on the 
1 2th. 

Colonel Seth Warner was a prominent figure in this battle ; he was a 
Connecticut man whose life is so interwoven with the early history of this sec- 
tion, that history almost accords him a residence here. As a military leader 
he was honored and confided in by the people above all others, and his bravery 
and military capacity appear to have always been appreciated by intelligent 
officers of both armies. 

In the evacuation of Ticonderoga he was in command of the rearguard, by 
which he was involved in the action at Hubbardton. This description of him 
has been given : " Colonel Warner was of noble personal appearance, very tall, 
not less than six feet two inches ; large frame but thin in flesh and apparently 
of great bodily strength. His features were regular, strongly marked and indic- 
ative of mental strength, a fixedness of purpose, and yet of much benevolent 
good nature." Colonel Moses Robinson, Bennington, who, with his regiment, 
participated in the battle, was one of the famons Council of Safety that carried 
Vermont successfully through the bloody campaign of 1777. He was chief 
justice of the Supreme Court and governor. 

After the battle the bones of those who fell were all buried in one grave, 
which remained until the last half of the century unmarked. Money was sub- 
scribed in 1858 for the erection of a monument, which was unveiled July 7, 
1859, with appropriate ceremonies. On the base is the following inscription: 



County Organization — War of 1812. 65 

" Hubbardton battle fought on this ground July 7, 1777." On the north side, 
" Colonel Warner commanded, Colonel Francis killed. Colonel Hale captured. 
The Green Mountain boys fought bravely." On the south side, "This monu- 
ment was erected by the citizens of Hubbardton and vicinity." On the west 
side, "The only battle fought in Vermont during the Revolution." The cen- 
tennial was observed with commemorative services July 7, 1877. 



CHAPTER Vn. 

COUNTY ORGANIZATION — WAR OF 1S12. 

Vevmont's Record in the Revolution — Bennington County and its Extent — Formation of Rutland 
County — First County Officers — Addison County Taken From Rutland — Courts — War of 1S12 — 
Vermont's Active Measures— Mmority Oppositon — The W'ar Productive of Internal Dissensions in 
Rutland County— Hearty Response to Call for Men at the Battle of Plattsburg — Peace and Pros- 
perity. 

THE great events with which the closing years of the Revolutionary strug- 
gle were filled did not so nearly approach the locality of which this work 
treats, although the settlers of Vermont continued to perform their share of 
the work which was to secure freedom to the nation. Their valorous deeds 
and those of the colonies at large, are recorded on many a historic page of 
general history and need not be traced in detail here. 

It was while the people of the county were still oppressed by the war 
which had overwhelmed the country for six years, that the organization of 
Rutland county was effected. On the 13th of February, 1781, Bennington 
county, then comprising the entire territory west of the Green Mountains, was 
given its present boundaries, while all the region northward and west of the 
mountains was given the name of Rutland county. The first officers of this 
county were as follows : Increase Moseley, of Clarendon, chief judge ; Thomas 
Porter, of Tinmouth, Joseph Bovvker and Benjamin Whipple, of Rutland, side 
judges; Obadiah Noble, of Tinmouth, clerk; Abraham Ives, of Wallingford, 
sheriff; Nathaniel Chipman, of Tinmouth, State's attorney ; Joseph Bowker, 
of Rutland, judge of probate. 

Rutland county retained its original boundaries until 1787, when Addison 
I county was formed, reducing it to its present limits, with the exception of the 
transfer of the town of Orwell to Addison county in 1847. The county is about 
fifty-five miles centrally distant from Montpelicr, the State capital ; is fort)'- 
two miles long from north to south and thirty-four wide from east to west 
and contains 958 square miles of territory. 



66 History of Rutland County. 

After the organization of the county its courts were held in Tinmouth un- 
til 1784, that town having been selected as the county seat; that town was 
then about the center of population in the county and the home of many of 
the prominent men. The early courts were held and public business trans- 
acted in the public house of Solomon Bingham, on the "Tinmouth Flats," 
where the family lived in one part of the log building and the other part suf- 
ficed for the court- room. Here the first jail was also located and built of logs. 
In 17,84 Rutland was made the shire town and the courts were transferred 
thither. Details of these matters will appear in subsequent chapters. 

As the reader will learn from a perusal of the various town histories herein 
and the chapters treating upon other topics, the people of the county pursued 
their vocations in peace and in a fair degree of prosperity until the mutterings 
that presaged another war with England were heard in unmistakable tones. Of 
this prominent event in the history of the country, a short account must be 
given. 

War 0/ iS 12-1 4. — The causes which led to the second war with Great 
Britain are well understood, and a brief reference to them and to the events 
which transpired in this immediate vicinity, will serve the purpose of these 
pages. Causes of complaint against the mother country had e.xisted for sev- 
eral years, and as early as 1 809 led to the passage by Congress of a law inter- 
dicting all commercial intercourse with Great Britain. On the 3d of April, 
1812 Conoress laid an embargo on all shipping within the jurisdiction of the 
United States for ninety days, and on the i8th of June following an act was 
passed declaring war with Great Britain. The principal causes which led to 
the adoption of this measure were declared to be the impressment of American 
seamen by the British, and the plundering of American commerce. 

On the assembling of the Vermont Legislature in October, the governor, 
Jonas Galusha, in his message urged the members to second the measure of 
the general government, and provide means for defending the borders and for 
sustaining the national rights and honor. The Assembly majority concurred 
in the sentiments thus expressed, while a minority entered a protest. A law was 
passed prohibiting all intercouse between the people of Vermont and Canada, 
without a permit from the governor, under a penalty of $1,000 fine and seven 
years' confinement at hard labor in the State prison. A tax of one cent per 
acre was laid on the lands of the State, in addition to the usual assessments, 
and other acts were passed relating to the payment of the militia. 

These regulations proving oppressive to the people, many of the supporters 
of the war went over to the opposition. As the election of 1813 approached,* 
both parties exerted their utmost endeavor to preserve their ascendency. No 
governor was elected by the people. The Legislature elected a governor 
whose opinions were in direct opposition to the war. The laws relating to the 
support of, and providing ways and means for, the war were repealed. The 



County Organization — War of 1812. 6y 

party spirit ran so high that opponents branded each other with opprobious 
epitliets. The impartial administration of justice was endangered. Opposi- 
tion to the measures of the government became so strong that the laws of Con- 
gress, especially the act relating to customs duties, were treated as a nullity, and 
so general became the practice of smuggling cattle and other supplies into 
Canada and bringing out goods of English manufacture in return, that it was 
regarded less as a crime than as a justifiable act. 

The people of Rutland county were in no degree behind those of other 
sections of the State, nearer to the scenes of actual hostility, in the virulence 
and bitterness of their political animosities. So far was the question of peace 
or war with England carried into the political contests between the rival par- 
ties, that it became the chief topic of contention and the source of the bitterest 
enmity. Families and friends were separated and stood in hostile array against 
each other ; a man's politics constituted his passport or his mark of rejection 
at his neighbor's door, and matters reached such a pitch that the dread of civil 
commotion hung heavily on the minds of the more considerate portion of the 
community. 

On this question, which seemed to both parties to involve the greater ques- 
tion of our independence, we find on one hand in Rutland county such men as 
Nathaniel Chipman, Chauncey Langdon, Charles K. Williams and their polit- 
ical friends. On the other, Moses Strong, Robert Temple, Jonas Clark and 
Rollin C. Mallary, and their associates ; these men arrayed against each other, 
and with leaders of such marked ability and influence, it is no matter of sur- 
prise that the feelings of the people of the county should have been w orked 
up with increasing intensity, as the decision in Congress on the question of 
peace or war culminated ; and when war was actually declared, on the i8th 
of June, 1812, the excitement was intense. Rumors of every nature were 
abroad. The news was disseminated with almost telegraphic rapidity, flying 
from town to town by express riders and speeding from one scattered settle- 
ment to another throughout Western Vermont. 

Notwithstanding this hostility, even up to the brink of civil war, the spirit 
of patriotism and devotion to the Union burned in every soul with its accus- 
tomed fervor. All were ready, when the hour of trial came, to defend the 
country with their lives, if necessary, from external foes; and when the British 
army and fleet moved out of Canada to Plattsburg, to crush our defenses there 
and invade the soil of a sister State, that moment the bitterness and clamor of 
party were hushed and, so far as the grounds of contention were concerned, 
hushed forever. 

On that occasion the people of Rutland county, without distinction of party, 
and in common with the people of adjacent counties, volunteered their services 
to repel the common enemy. With such weapons as they had at command, 
they hurried from their homes and within a few days after the first alarm were 



68 History of Rutland County. 

on their way to join their New York friends on the banks of the Saranac. But 
few of the volunteers from this county reached Plattsburg, as the news of the 
battle and the decisive American victory met them on their way, and they 
quietly returned to their homes and disbanded. Companies of volunteers were 
formed in Benson, Brandon, Castleton, Danby, Fairhaven, Hubbardton, Mid- 
dletown, Orwell, Pawlet, Pittsford, Poultney, Rutland, Tinmouth, Wallingford, 
Weils, and portions of companies in other towns. They were on the march in 
two days after the first call, and a few of them reached Middlebury ; but the 
majority received intelligence that their services were not needed on reaching 
Sudbury, Whiting and Salisbury. 

After the battle of Plattsburg nothing further occurred in this vicinity 
worthy of particular mention during the war. In October the Legislature 
assembled. No governor had been elected by the people ; Martin Chittenden 
was accordingly again elected by a small majority. Many accusations were 
made against the governor, a number of which were presented from Rutland 
county, because the militia was not ordered out for the defense of Plattsburg, 
instead of being called out as volunteers. He replied that a call upon our pat- 
riotic citizens for their voluntary services was, in this case, considered to be the 
only method by which timely and efficient aid could be afforded. 

The war had ceased ; the gloom which had hung over the people disap- 
peared, and a general congratulation prevailed, as the soldiery returned to their 
homes as citizens, and again turned the implements of war into the instruments 
of husbandry. The violence of party spirit declined ; the sentiment of the 
people became united and the peaceful pursuits of business were renewed. 

Peace and Prosperity. — Peace again spread her beneficent wings over the 
country and every hamlet in the land felt its benign influence. The inhabitants 
of Rutland county again gave their undivided attention to the cultivation of 
their farms and building up the early industries. This reign of peace and gen- 
eral prosperity has not been interrupted since in any manner worthy of par- 
ticular mention here (except as will appear in the details given in subsequent 
pages), until the breaking out of the great Rebellion, which plunged the coun- 
try into a monstrous civil war. The inhabitants have wisely administered their 
public affairs, and by their energy have made the most of their private indus- 
tries. Schools, churches and benevolent institutions have not been neglected 
in the often more absorbing pursuit of wealth ; and the result is a community 
which, for general intelligence and morality, will favorably compare with any 
in the country. 



Social History. 69 



CHAPTER Vin. 



Philosophy of Social History— Natural Desire of Humanity for Association —Social Intercourse 
in its Early Development — Real Social Character of "the Good Old Times," as Compared with 
Present Customs — The Old Fire- Pla?e — Corn Huskings — Amusements Therewith Connected — 
"Kitchen Digs"— Other Amusements. 

NATHANIEL CHIPMAN, long the eminent jurist of Vermont in our early 
history, pubHshed a work on The Principles of Government. In that work 
first principles are elaborately and philosophically investigated. In his second 
chapter he says : "The first thing which strikes the mind in the course of our 
inquiry, is an appetite for society. Man desires to associate with man, and 
feels a pleasure at the approach of his kind. The appetite is so universally 
prevalent it cannot be denied that it originates in his nature." The next step 
of Judge Chipman seems to be to show that "mutual wants" and "mutual 
defense" create a necessity for organization. Hence come our civil institutions 
— government and the varied associations of civilized life, all showing that man 
in his nature was fitted for society. 

The first settlers of our county and State had this social nature. We have 
a tradition that Ethan Allen and his compatriots, prior to the Revolutionary 
War, as they traveled on foot from Bennington to Burlington through the for- 
est, had places on their route for social intercourse with the settlers. One of 
those places was at the log- house of Heber Allen (a brother of Ethan, then liv- 
ing in Poultney), where the patriots who had settled in the vicinity assembled 
and held social interviews, intense in their character, noisy, demonstrative and 
determined, and, in effect, fired the hearts and nerves of those old patriots to 
their strongest tension. 

The early settlers of Vermont were very friendly with each other ; they 
had no "poor-house"; they raised no tax to support the poor, but the few 
unfortunate persons of that class were cared for by neighborhood comity. 

Horace Greeley, in his opening chapter on the American conflict, says rela- 
tive to the early history of our country: " Social intercourse was more general, 
less formal, more hearty, more valued than at present. Friendships were 
warmer and deeper. Relationship by blood or marriage was more profoundly 
regarded. Men were not ashamed to own that they loved their cousins better 
than their other neighbors and their neighbors better than the rest of mankind." 

The old folks almost universally say: "When I was young, people were 
more friendly than now ; neighbors were more intimate, more ready to help 
each other ; visited each other more from house to house," and they all end 

1 Prepared and contributed to this work by Hon. Barnes Frisbie, of Poultney. 



70 History of Rutland County. 

with a sigh for " the good old times." But the modern philosopher has it that 
there has been social progress, as well as progress in the material world, pro- 
gress in everything which pertains to civilization. Is not this so ? I think it 
is and that history conclusively proves it. Now can we reconcile this with the 
language quoted from Greeley and the theory of the old folks? Greele)', in the 
same chapter, gives us the key: " Our fathers moved in a narrower round than 
we do." One readily ought to see that two, three, or a half dozen families in 
log- houses in the forest, and comprising the entire population of a newly-settled 
town, would naturally have more intimate and friendly relations with the few 
neighbors they had, than families who live in an older and more densely popu- 
lated town would have with their neighbors. Secluded as the former would 
be, the social propensity must be gratified by intercourse with a few. Not so 
with the latter, as perhaps an hundred avenues would be open to them for the 
exercise of their social natures, where there would be one with the former. 

Our space will not permit us to elaborate upon this thought and, while we 
concede that social intercourse was more general, less formal, more hearty, more 
valued than at present in olden times, we shall assume that we have at least in- 
dicated the reason for this and that it does not necessarily follow that the people 
have degenerated in their social virtues. " Now the means of communication 
are such and the business of modern life so changed that our thoughts, affec- 
tions and aspirations take a wider range." Of course, when the social affections 
of our fathers and mothers were centered upon a few objects, so far they would 
be more intense than could ordinarily be now entertained in the best of society. 

It is the purpose of the writer to bring out in this chapter some portion of 
our history bearing upon the social element, so that the reader may peruse the 
same with a view to cause and effect, in other words, to the philosophy of his- 
tory, the foregoing has been written as preliminary. 

The writer has already in another historical work, expressed himself as 
follows: " Many now living have not forgotten the 'old-fashioned fire-place;' 
this was the fire-side, indeed, with all that the term implies in prose, poetry or 
song. At the bottom of the flue which led up through a large chimney to the 
open air, was this fire-plaee. The bottom was on a level with the kitchen floor, 
and spacious enough to take in a back log of four feet in length and two feet 
in diameter, with another stick top of that half or two-thirds its size ; and in 
front of these a fore-stick eight inches, or a foot, in diameter resting upon a 
pair of andirons made when iron was plenty and cheap, with space enough 
between the forestick and backlog for the kindling and small wood. At the 
bottom and in front of the fire-place, reaching out from two to four feet into 
the room, was a hearth made of flat stones as smooth and regular in form as 
could be obtained from the fields. With all the wood, large sticks and small, 
well on, the fire so lighting up the room that the tallow candle could be dispensed 
with, a mug of cider at one corner of the fire-place, and a large dish of apples 



Social History. 



at the other corner, with the family and perhaps a few neighbors or visitors, 
all animated and cheerful under the influence of the blazing fire and social chat 
and forming a semicircle in front of and facing the bright and glowing fire, 
and we have a view of the farmers' kitchen sixty years ago." Here they spent 
their evenings, instead of going to the lecture-room, the concert, or to some 
place of amusement so common in these daj-s. Then there were no such pub- 
lic entertainments. 

Corii-Hiiskings. — These were very common in the first half century of our 
existence as a State and were resorted to for two purposes : first, to get the 
work done ; and, second, for a neighborhood visit, and " a good time." It 
appears elsewhere in this work that corn grew and yielded heavily on our lands 
during this period of our history. The farmers then all raised an abundance of 
this crop. After it was cut up, put into " stooks " and stood a few days in the 
field, it was drawn to the barn and husked. It was a sort of common law, or 
rather a common custom, that every farmer should have a " husking." When 
his " stooks " were sufficiently dried (cured) in the field, he would go about 
among his neighbors and invite all, old and young, to attend a husking at his 
place on an evening named. During the day preceding the appointed evening, 
he, with his help and team, would be engaged in hauling the corn to his barn, 
barn-yard or some other place on his premises, setting it up and arranging it 
for the husking in the evening. At the same time his " women folks " would 
be making the pumpkin pies, indispensable at corn-huskings, and putting the 
house in order for the evening entertainment. Those corn-huskings came 
down to a period within the recollection of the writer. Speaking in the first per- 
son, I can distinctly recollect five or six of them which I attended, and if I de- 
scribe those, or a part of them, it may answer for a description of the whole ; 
they were all of the same general character in this county. Not long after 1820 
my father, who lived in Middletown and was a farmer, had a husking. I was 
not old enough to give much attention to it, but well remember that my mother 
kept the old brick oven hot for two or three days and turned out, among other 
eatables, a large number of pumpkin pies. The evening came ; a crowd of 
men and boys collected at the barn and began husking, their work lighted only 
by a tin lantern in which was a tallow candle. As I was but a child my father 
soon drove me to the house, which seemed filled with females of all ages and 
all talking at the same time, each one without regard to what the others were 
saying. I was put to bed at once and told to " go to sleep." I went to sleep, 
but when the men and boys came in from the barn I was awakened, and, de- 
spite of parental orders, got out of my bed in time to see the pumpkin pies dis- 
appear down the throats of a jolly company. This repast taken, it was pro- 
posed by some of the company to " run 'round the chimney." 

This was a very common play by the young people in our early history, 
and quite often followed corn-huskings the same evening. The construction 



72 History of Rutland County. 

of the dwelling-house, which followed the temporary log cabins, has been de- 
scribed elsewhere — a house of one story, a huge chimney in the middle, sur- 
rounded by a kitchen, two "square rooms" off the kitchen and an entry way 
between the latter rooms, and with the doors all open formed a passage way 
for the boys and girls to chase each other round the chimney in this play. 
" Running 'round chimney " had been for thirty years a very frequent occur- 
rence with the young at the time, and was a very common pastime with them 
for ten years or more after. I was present on several of those occasions after 
the one at my father's. The play began something in this wise : A young man 
would say, " I have an action against Susan, or Harriet," or whoever she might 
be. The girl thus accused, under the code of the play, was required to choose 
some one to judge between them, and the sentence of the judge would be that 
the accuser run after the accused around the chimney until he caught her. The 
two would then start, the girl a few steps in advance, and after a few rounds he 
would catch her and kiss her. This would settle that action. This couple 
would retire and another would be introduced in the same way. I do not re- 
member all of the technicalities that governed this play, but I do remember 
that often a female ran after a male, and I remember that the pursued, whether 
male or female, was always caught and kissed after a few rounds. 

This play was coarse and rude in its nature, but the society of that time ap- 
proved, adopted and practiced it for thirty or forty years and until the old 
houses with the big chimneys in the middle were superseded by those of mod- 
ern style, and society substituted more refined amusements for the young. 

In connection with the corn-huskings, other amusements often followed. I 
was present at one husking where a dance was held in the house after the corn 
was husked at the barn. The services of a noted fiddler of those days, Jerud 
Ives, of Tinmouth, had been secured. Mr. Ives was present with " the fiddle 
and the bow," and organized for a dance as soon as the pumpkin pies had been 
disposed of The dances in those days have been known as "kitchen digs." 
" What the white men call cotillon " had not then come into use in this county. 
Mr. Ives was full of music and had advanced as far as his contemporaries in 
the science as a conductor of dances. He was a large muscular man and drew 
the bow with uncommon vigor; he indicated the emphatic parts of his music 
by a stamp of the foot and a motion of his head ; indeed, his countenance and 
his every motion indicated great enthusiasm and spirit, which seemed to give 
him perfect control of the parties on the floor. Jig dances required more of 
muscular power and endurance than the modern dance, but there has been 
nothing like the former to stimulate physical action. The dancers would hop, 
and jump, and skip, exerting every nerve to the utmost, being sure to always 
strike the floor in the right time. 

The social amusements of a former generation were not as numerous as 
they are now, but they were of a positive character, what there were, and 



Social History. 73 



they drew more upon the physical powers than do the modern amusements. 
Ball-playing, pitching quoits, apple-parings and quiltings were very common, 
and it is to the credit of our fathers and mothers that their amusements were 
in the main productive in effecting the performance of necessary labor, and 
let it here be remembered that the kind and character of those amusements 
were simply the offspring of society as it then was. 

Let it not be inferred here that plays, sports and amusements made up the 
lives of our ancestors. There was much of domestic life, much in their social 
relations and habits that we can but admire, and from which we may, if we 
will, find potent causes of our remarkable progress in the last half century. 
Emerson well said : " If a man wishes to acquaint himself with the real history 
of the world, with the spirit of the age, he must not first go to the state-house or 
the court-room; the subtle spirit of life must be sought in facts nearer." Cus- 
toms, habits, anecdotes, facts, all which go to show the social status of the 
common people, unmistakably indicate their true character as a whole, and to 
form a just estimate of their history these must be consulted. 

Our early history, more than that of any other period, emphasizes " Home, 
Sweet Home." There their affections were then centered. As a rule they 
made home happy, and they made it so by promptly and faithfully attending 
to their work, in-doors and out, and keeping up a social, friendly intercourse 
in the family. An old friend of mine, whose father and mother were early 
emigrants from Canterbury, Connecticut, once said to me that his mother 
would keep that old wheel of hers whirling all day and tell Canterbury stories 
from morning till night. And often, more often than now, subjects of conver- 
sation took a serious and practical turn in the families and with visitors when 
present. A larger proportion of the inhabitants were then professors of relig- 
ion and members of churches than now. The Sabbath-day was more strictly 
kept, and the Sunday services attended largely in excess of the present time 
in proportion to population. An afternoon visit was almost a weekly occur- 
rence, at which all the ladies of a given neighborhood would assemble and 
" take tea " with one of their neighbors. The next week, or as soon as con- 
venient, they would assemble at some other neighbor's, and thus keep up that 
friendly, neighborhood intercourse which so marked our people in the long 
time ago. Husbands sometimes accompanied their wives, and clergymen, 
deacons and their wives were in the habit of visiting the several families in 
their congregations, and at those visits the subject of religion would be a lead- 
ing topic of conversation. There was very little of class or caste in the society 
of those early years. The mode of dress was simple and plain, and for the most 
part homespun. There was very little of formality ; it was not considered an 
intrusion to call on a neighbor without an invitation. If a half dozen, more or 
less, should call on a neighbor for a visit, it was not then a " surprise party " — 
there was no surprise about it; it was an every-day occurrence, and was ex- 



74 HisTuRv OF Rutland County. 

pected. The good lady of the house could cheerfully receive company in her 
washing-dress. My grandmother, who lived in Brandon during her married 
life, once said to me that she once called on a lady of her acquaintance and 
found her making soap — that she sat about helping at once. " We got out a 
barrel of soap," she said, " and I never had a better visit in my life." 

In our early history Rutland county had abler men in the professions ; bio- 
graphical sketches of many of them will appear elsewhere, and allusions to some 
of them will be made here only to bring out their social characteristics. Na- 
thaniel Chipman was hardly less distinguished as a conversationalist and wit 
than as a jurist. General Jonas Clark, for half a century a leading member of 
the Rutland county bar, had no superior, if an equal, in his time for genuine 
social qualities and ready wit. In his practice at the bar, he often had to meet 
sallies from opposing counsel, but seldom failed in a response which left him 
the better man in the encounter. Moses Strong, Robert Temple, Gordon 
Newell and Edgar L. Ormsbee were also noted examples of the early Rutland 
county bar, for their wit and repartee, and their social faculties. 

Among the clergymen who possessed social qualifications of a high order 
we can call to mind Lemuel Haynes, Henry Bigelow and Stephen Martindale. 
Some are now living who remember those noted clergymen of Rutland county 
in a former day and generation. They were men of great power in the pulpit, 
strictly orthodox, intensely devoted to their calling, but woe to the man who 
crossed swords with them in sallies of wit or in repartee. 

If space could be allowed many anecdotes might be given of those early 
professional men, lawyers and clergymen, which might be entertaining if not 
instructive. It is the opinion of the writer that the real wit and humor of 
those times were superior to that of the present ; but it was the offspring of 
that age — of the society which then existed. This opinion of the writer might 
be sound and at the same time concede progress in civilization. No such 
poetry as Milton, Pope, Dryden or Goldsmith wrote an hundred years ago and 
more, has been written in this age, nor could it be. The works of the poets 
named were the products of that age ; they could have been produced in no 
other. Yet, what a change, what a wonderful advance has been since made in 
civilization. 

It has already appeared in this chapter as the opinion of the writer that 
society is capable of improvement — that it has improved and advanced as 
material interests have advanced. Judge Chapman, in his work alluded to in 
the opening of this chapter, lays dow^n the fundamental principle that the pro- 
pensity to Society is not limited to the number of its objects, but " is adapted 
to the occasions, the powers and faculties of men, and admits of general exten- 
sion by improvement." We cannot go back to the " good old times," as the 
old folks understand it ; that is impossible. To illustrate this : We can never 
again have an " old-fashioned thanksgiving." We can make chicken pies, 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 75 

roast turkeys, and call the family together from far and near. But this would 
now be mechanical — it would be mere imitation. The social element which 
gave character to the thanksgi\-ing of olden time is not with us now, and no 
art or device can make it. It is possible to get up a military drill and parade 
on the first Tuesdaj' of June ; but the "June trainings" of yore will never be 
witnessed again. We may celebrate our nation's birthday for all time to come, 
and I hope we shall, but " the spirit of '76," as exhibited during the first half 
century of our existence as a nation, will never be thus exhibited again. 

As we progress changes occur — social changes as well as others, and the 
social element must adapt itself "to the occasion." It must adapt itself to 
the much wider and extended range which modern life has given it. But it 
" admits of improvement." Society is a vital element in nations and states, and 
he who neglects the study of it can have but a partial knowledge of our his- 
tory, and but an imperfect idea of what holds our republic together. 



CHAPTER IX. 

RUTLAND COUNTY IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. i 

Falriotism of Vermont — Honorable Services of the Troops — Action at the First Call for Volun- 
teers — Company C (Rutland Light Guards) of the First Regiment — Its Re-enlistment in the Twelfth 
Regiment — Career of the Regiment — The Fifth and Eleventh Regiments, Vermont Brigade — Career 
of the Brigade — The 'Seventh Regiment — The Tenth Regiment and its Career — The Ninth Regi- 
ment — First Regiment Vermont Sharpshooters — Career of Company F, First Vermont Cavalry — 
Nine-Months Volunteers — The Twelfth and Fourteenth Regiments — Second Battery Light Artillery 
— Roster of Officers from Rutland County. 

NO State in the Union came out of the great struggle for the preservation 
of our national government with greater glory and a more honorable rec- 
ord than Vermont. With almost unexampled promptitude and unselfish prod- 
igality she sent her best blood to baptize the southern fields and languish in 
deadly prisons, and lavished her treasure in support of the noble cause, and to- 
day no one can do the memory of her heroes, dead and living, too much honor. 
The sharp anguish of sudden loss of father, husband or brother may have be- 

1 In the very limited space allotted us in this work for this subject, we can attempt little more than 
the gathering into condensed and convenient form of the military statistics of Rutland county, as pre- 
served in the remarkably complete records preserved in the reports of the adjutant and inspector-gen- 
eral of the State. The subject merits, perhaps more than any other, the fullest and ablest treatment 
by the historian, with such facilities at his command that the work may reach the masses of the peo- 
ple ; and it is a pleasure to know that there is now in course of preparation by G. G. Benedict, esq., of 
Burlington, a work on the subject which will, without doubt, bear the most critical examination and 
justify the anticipations of all who feel an interest in it. 



y6 History of Rutland County. 

come softened by the kindly hand of time ; but the vacant places around thou- 
sands of hearthstones are still there and must for many more years awaken 
mournful memories in innumerable hearts and bring the occasional tear to many 
an e3'e. 

Rutland county, being the largest in respect of population in the State, felt 
tlie awful ravages ofithe war with greater severity tlian any other. No sooner 
did the first traitorous gun send its fateful shot upon Fort Sumter than her cit- 
izens aroused themselves to action for that energetic support of the govern- 
ment which never flagged until the last shot was fired against the old flag. Of 
the 34,238 patriotic men who went to the front from this State, her quota was- 
promptly and freely contributed, almost without a semblance of compulsion 
through conscription, and the most liberal measures were successively adopted 
for the payment of bounties and the aid of soldiers in the field and their fam- 
ilies at home. 

When the first call of the president was issued for 75,000 men to serve three 
months, immediate steps were taken in Rutland county towards the organiza- 
tion of a regiment ; and so energetically was the work prosecuted that a regi- 
ment was recruited, organized and mustered into the service on the 2d day of 
May, 1 861 — less than a month after the first gun of the Rebellion was fired. 
In this regiment one company (K) was recruited entirely in Rutland county^ 
and another (G) contained sixty volunteers from here. The commissioned 
officers of the latter company were Joseph Bush, captain ; William Cronan, first 
lieutenant, and Ebenezer J. Ormsbee, second lieutenant, all of Brandon. Com- 
pany K retained its old name of " Rutland Light Guard," and was officered as 
follows: William Y. W. Ripley, captain; George T. Roberts, first lieutenant; 
Levi G. Kingsley, second lieutenant ; William G. Edgerton, John A. Sheldon,. 
Walter C. Landon and Truman B. Lamson, sergeants ; Stephen G. Staley,. 
William B. Thrall, Edgar M. Rounds and Edward Coppins, corporals. The 
field and staff" officers of the First Regiment were as follows : J. Wolcott Phelps^ 
Brattleboro, colonel ; Peter T. Washburn, Woodstock, lieutenant-colonel ; 
Harry N. Worthen, Bradford, major; Hiram Stevens, Enosburgh, adjutant; 
Edmund A. Morse, Rutland, quartermaster ; E. K. Sanborn, Rutland, surgeon ; 
Willard A. Child, Pittsford, assistant surgeon ; Levi H. Stone, Northfield,. 
chaplain ; Charles G. Chandler, St Albans, sergeant-major (captain of Com- 
pany C from May 24) ; Thomas R. Clark, Chester, drum-major ; Martin Mc- 
Manus, Rutland, quartermaster-sergeant ; J. C. Stearns, Bradford, sergeant- 
major (from May 24) ; Ransom Clark, Rutland, hospital steward. 

Company K of this regiment, to which allusion [has been made, was made 
up almost entirely of the old Rutland Light Guard, of the State uniformed, 
militia, which was organized November 13, 1858, and long bore the reputation 
of being one of the finest and best disciplined companies of the militia. The 
late General H. H. Baxter was the first captain, and in 1861, at the time of its. 




» 



•r^ ' 




f^f 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. -jj 

•enlistment in the volunteer service, the company was in command of Captain 
Wm. Y. W. Ripley. At a meeting held February 9, 1861, all of the company 
who were present but one expressed themselves ready to volunteer in aid of 
the government ; nine who were absent were vouched for for the same pur- 
pose, and thirteen others were absent. Fifty-two responded as ready for en- 
listment. This being the first company that enlisted in the town of Rutland 
we will give their names here, although they will appear elsewhere in this chap- 
ter in the general lists : H. J. Bradford, A. C. Blaisdell, C. Barrett, S. T. Buel, 
G. E. Croft, C. Claghorn, S. M. Clark, R. Clark, W. H. Davis, G. E. Davis, C. 
P. Dudley, W. J. Dorrance, J. Donnelly, G. J. Everson, J. Everson, jr., F. 
Fenn, J. C. Gaines, W. R. Gilmore, G. H. Griggs, N. J. Green, F. Gee, G. M. 
Gleason, D. M. Gleason, Z. Geru, M. Goslin, I. S. Hall, F. T. Huntoon, C. F. 
Huntoon, E. B. Hicks, J. N. Howard, C. K. Hills, G. P. Hills, L. D. Kenney, 
S. H. Kelley, M. Lyman, G. A. Lee, M. W. Leach, R. Moulthrop, J. G. Moore, 
W. T. Nichols, P. R. Newman, G. W. Newcomb, A. Parker, H. D. Rouse, R. 
Rounds, J. W. Ross, E. Reynolds, J. E. Post, J. F. E. Smith, A. D. Smith, A. 
Spencer, A. W. Spaun, T. Southard, H. G. Sheldon, W. B. Thompson, G. F. 
Thayer, W. H. Thayer, D. B. Thrall, R. R. Thrall, S. Turrell, G W. Warren, 
H. Webb, A. W. White, E. Whitney, M. V. B. Bronson. 

On the 13th of May the regiment arrived at Fortress Monroe from New 
York, at which city they arrived on the 10th. On the 23d of May the regi- 
ment encamped at Hampton and on the 25 th received orders to embark the 
following morning on the gunboat Monticello for the James River Landing 
was made the same day at Newport News and the regiment began work on 
fortifications at that point, continuing two weeks. On the loth of June oc- 
curred the battle of Big Bethel, in which five companies of the regiment, in- 
cluding the Light Guards, were engaged. This was the first of the many oc- 
casions when Vermont troops were under fire. The losses in killed and wounded 
in the First Regiment were forty-five. The regiment remained at Newport News 
until the expiration of its term, when it returned home and was mustered out 
at Brattleboro on the 15th of August, 1861. 

In this immediate connection it will be proper to finish what needs to be 
said of the Rutland Light Guard. Under the call of the president for nine- 
months volunteers in 1862, the Twelfth Regiment was recruited in this State. 
Down to this period the organization of the Light Guard had been kept alive, 
an election of officers on August 11, 1862, resulting as follows: L. G. Kings- 
ley, captain; W. C. Landon, first lieutenant; S. G. Staley, second lieutenant, 
and subsequently large numbers of members were elected to fill the ranks of 
the company in the vacancies caused by repeated enlistments. On the 19th 
of August the company voted to offer its services again to the State, and they 
were accepted. Meanwhile the deaths of Captain Edward Reynolds, of the 
Sixth Vermont Regiment, who fell at Lee's Mills on the 17th of April, and of 



78 History of Rutland County. 

Colonel George T. Roberts, of the Seventh Vermont, who died of wounds re- 
ceived at Baton Rouge, were appropriately noticed by the campany, of which 
they had been officers during the term of service of the First Regiment. 

The Light Guards were assigned to the Twelfth Regiment and arrived in 
Brattleboro and went into camp on the 26th of September; it was given its 
old letter (K). After arriving at Brattleboro Captain Kingsley was elected 
major of the regiment ; Lieutenant W. C. Landon was promoted to captain ; 
Second lieutenant S. G. Staley was promoted to first, and Sergeant E. M. 
Rounds to second lieutenant. (Other promotions of Rutland county men are 
noticed a little further on). The composition of the company when the regi- 
ment left for the front was as follows : sergeants, M. W. Leach, Ed. Coppins, 
W. H. Davis and Milo Lyman ; corporals, Martin Goslin, R. R. Thrall, 
Theo. Southard, George E. Davis, Charles Claghorn, George H. Griggs, D. 
M. Gleason and Ruel Rounds ; drummer, Charles Mason ; fifer, W. M. 
Smith. The records show that the enlistments in Company K were seventy- 
three in Rutland, six in Clarendon, three each in Ira, Mendon and Pittsford 
and one in Wallingford. The names of the rank and file when the company 
left for the South were as follows : J. Hardy, H. Barney, C. Barrett, C. 
P. Bateman, N. T. Birdsall, A. B. Bissell, J. M. Bixby, N. Bourasso, J. D. Brad- 
ley, A. B. Burnett, W. H. Button, F. F. Cady, W. Campbell, H. L. Capron, 
H. W. Cheney, D. Chittenden, E. Clark, M. C. Clark, S. H. Clifford, T. Clifford, 
W. Connors, J. Constantine, J. H. Davis, J. H. Dyer, A. W. Edson, M. C. Ed- 
son, W. W. Felt, A. W. Field, R. A. Field, J. Fridett, J. S. Frink, A. Fuller, 
J. Fuller, F. Gee, W. H. Gleason,- D. L. Gould, H. L. Gould, C. H. Granger. 
W. E. Harkness, C. A. Hathorn, D. B. Haynes, L. H. Hemenway, E. C. Jack- 
son, W. C. Jackson, W. H. Jackson, M. Kennedy, H. H. Lee, P. Loesel, E. 
Lyston, J. D. Lyston, J. P. Mailhoit, L. A. McClure, J. A. Mead, J. G. Moore, 
T. A. E. Moore, W. A. Mussey, E. S. Nelson, W. Oney, A. Parker, J. H. 
Patch, L. L. Persons, J. Phalen, C. Plumer, C. J. Powers, G. H. Ray, T. E. 
Reynolds, C. H. Ripley, W. Rock, A. D. Ross, W. B. Shaw, M. Sherry, S. 
Sherry, M. Slatterly, C. R. Spaulding, A. W. Spaun, E. M. Tower, H. C. Tower, 
M. C. VVardwell, C. Waterhouse, G. A. Wilkins, J. Wilson, P. Winter. 

It will be seen that a large majority of these men were members of Com- 
pany K of the P^irst Regiment. The other enlistments in this regiment from 
Rutland county comprised forty-one in Compan\- G, of whom three were from 
Chittenden, one from Hubbardton, twenty-five from Pittsford, one from Rut- 
land and eleven from Sudbury. 

The recruits for the regiment from Rutland count)' were distributed among 
the various towns about as follows: Brandon, Co. G, 41 ; Chittenden, Co. G, 
6; Clarendon, Co. K, 7; Hubbardton, Co. G, i; Ira, Co. K, 3; Mendon, 
Co. K, 5 ; Middletown, Company K, 2 ; Paulct, Co. K, i ; Pittsford, Co. G, 
25 ; Co. K, 3 ; Rutland, Co. K, -j-j ; Co. I, 1 ; Co. G, i ; Sudbury, Co. G. 1 1 ; 
Wallingford, Co. K, i. 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 79 

The following brief record of the career of the Twelfth Regiment is con- 
densed from a historical article printed in the Burlington Review of Septem- 
ber 13th, 1879 : — 

"October 7, 1862, left for Washington and arrived on the 9th. On the 
29th the Second Vermont Brigade, then comprising the Twelfth, Thirteenth, 
Fourteenth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth Regiments,^ all nine- months men, broke 
camp at East Capitol Hill and crossing the Potomac encamped on the Lee 
farm beyond Arlington Heights. November 9 they changed camp, locat- 
ing near Fort Lyon, two miles from Alexandria, and went into winter quart- 
ers, General Stoughton taking command of the brigade. December 12 they 
left their comfortable shanties and marched to Fairfax Court- House. From 
the 17th to and including the 20th the Twelfth Regiment did picket duty 
at Centerville. December 21 General Stoughton encamped the brigade in 
a pine grove near Fairfax Court-House. On the night of December 28, 1862, 
the Twelfth Regiment was under arms all night, and the next morning a body 
of rebel cavalry attempted unsuccessfully to break through the line. January 
21, 1863, the Twelfth and Thirteenth marched to Wolf Run Shoals, arriving the 
next day. The first snow storm, which was a severe one, occurred January 
28. February 15 Captain W. C. Landnn resigned; First Lieutenant Staley 
was appointed captain ; Second Lieutenant Rounds was made first lieutenant, 
and Orderly Sergeant Leach second lieutenant. On March 9 the commander 
of the brigade was captured. Sunday, May 3, the regiment took the cars 
at Union Mills and rode to Catlett's Station, where Companies K and G were 
left; the remainder of the regiment went to Bealton. There was a cavalry 
fight at Warrenton Junction near Catlett's Station. May 26 all engaged 
in entrenching, Hooker in command, and June 15 the army was in motion ; 
on the 17th the last train passed of Hooker's army and the regiment moved 
back to Wolf Run Shoals and encamped near Mrs. Wilcoxen's. On the 25th 
broke and began a march, no one knowing where the brigade is bound. That 
night encamped beyond Centerville. This was the commencement of the 
march into Maryland and Pennsylvania, after Lee, who had evaded Hooker. 
It rained all day. June 26 rain also continued and so did the march, march, 
march of the brigade. Encamped at Haniden Station for the night. On Sat- 
urday, the 27th, crossed the Potomac River, leaving camp at 5 A. M.. and 
camped at Pottsville for the night Sunday the brigade was still engaged in 
its tramp, tramp, tramp, stopping near Adamstown. Monday marching all 
day in the rain ; men dropping by the wayside, footsore and weary. Passed 
through Frederick, Md., at noon and camped two miles north for rest. Tues- 
day, June 30, up early but found the heavens still weeping, and all day the 
brigade tramped on in a drenching rain through muddy roads, many of the 
men leaving blood in their tracks. At night encamped near Evansburgh, Md. 

1 See also in later pages of ihis chapter further details of the career of this brigade. 



8o History of Rutland County. 

" The tramp, tramp, tramp of the Union armies had now brought them near 
the rebels and on the memorable 1st of July the Second Vermont Brigade 
broke camp at lO A. M., and the Twelfth Regiment, together with the Fifteenth, 
was ordered by Sickles to guard the First Corps train, the brigade being a part 
of the First Division, First Corps. It rained hard all day and in the middle of 
the afternoon they arrived within three miles of Gettysburg. We drop the 
record. On the 5th (Sunday) the regiment started for Baltimore as escort of 
two thousand prisoners, which they handed over to the authorities there. On 
the 9th they arrived at Brattleboro, and were mustered out July 14, 1863, 
Company K reaching Rutland on the 1 6th. During the march after Lee, after 
breaking camp in Virginia, the regiment marched one hundred and twenty- 
five miles in eight days, during every one of which it rained." Of Company 
K Charles Barrett, corporal, and privates J. H. Bradley, Augustus Fuller and 
H. L. Gould died in service. 

While we cannot in any sense attempt to give biographical notices of those 
who honorably performed their part in the great drama of the war, and earned 
promotion or fell in the line of duty, it may not be out of place to briefly men- 
tion some of the more deserving of Company K. William Y. W. Ripley, who 
went out as captain of Company K, First Regiment, was subsequently ap- 
pointed lieutenant-colonel of the First Sharpshooters, and was in command of 
the regiment in nearly all of the battles of the peninsula, often distinguishing 
himself by acts of bravery. At the battle of Malvern Hill he was severely 
wounded in the leg and was discharged in August, 1862, for promotion to the 
colonelcy of the Tenth Vermont Regiment, an office which he was forced by 
his disability to resign. (See history'of the Sharpshooters). 

Lieutenant George T. Roberts went out as first lieutenant of Company K, 
First Regiment, and was appointed colonel of the Seventh Regiment. He was 
killed in the battle of Baton Rouge, August S, 1862. In Colonel Holbrook's 
history of the Seventh Regiment he reports Colonel FuUam as saying, in con- 
nection with the circumstances surrounding the death of Colonel Roberts: "As 
soon as I had executed this order (referring to his instructions to go back to 
the officer in charge of the guns) I attempted to rejoin the regiment. On the 
way I met and caught the horse of Colonel Roberts, and was leading him up 
the road when I was assailed by a shower of bullets. The horse was frightened 
and broke away from me, while my own was seriously wounded." The writer 
then adds : " During the absence of Colonel Fullam, our heroic and ever-to-be 
lamented colonel was borne from the field in the thickest of the fight, mortally 
wounded." Colonel Roberts was first wounded in the neck, and while being 
carried to the rear was again struck by a minnie ball in the thigh ; this proved 
a mortal wound. The history says : " Dr. Blanchard soon reached the spot to 
which the colonel had been removed and gave him all the medical aid possible. 
Having no ambulance, a one-horse cart or dray was obtained, in which uncom- 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 8i 

fortable conveyance, on a thin litter of hay, he was taken to the hospital. I 
met him on the way, as I was returning from the picket line on the right flank. 
He was cheerful and bright, although seemingly suffering some pain. I ex- 
pressed much sorrow that he, of all others, should have been stricken. He 
replied that he did not consider his wounds serious, and hoped to soon be on 
duty again. The wound in the thigh proved fatal, the ball having glanced up- 
ward, penetrating the vital organs. Two days afterward he quietly, and ap- 
parently painlessly, passed from among the living." (See biography in this 
work.) 

Edwin F. Reynolds was commissioned captain of Company F, Sixth Ver- 
mont Regiment, having served as a private in Company K, of the First Regi- 
ment. He fell at the battle of Lee's Mills, at the head of his company. He 
was a true soldier, a brave and capable officer, and won the respect of all who 
knew him. 

Charles P. Dudley was a private in Company K, First Regiment, and was 
commissioned captain of Company E, Fifth Vermont, and promoted to major 
October 6, 1862, and lieutenant-colonel May 6, 1864. He died May 21, 1S64, 
of wounds, having lost an arm while cutting his way through the rebel lines at 
the battle of the Wilderness ; he died a few days afterward. 

Among others who went out at the first call for volunteers, and were after- 
ward honorably promoted, may be mentioned Levi G. Kingsley, second lieu- 
tenant Company K, First Regiment, who re-enlisted and was commissioned 
major of the Twelfth and was mustered out with the regiment ; W. C. Landon, 
sergeant in the First Regiment, was elected first lieutenant of Company K, 
Twelfth Regiment, and promoted to captain ; Corporal Stephen G. Staley, of 
Company K, First Regiment, was first sergeant in the Twelfth, promoted to 
first lieutenant and then to captain ; he died in 1875 ; and many others, whose 
names will further appear in the course of this record. 

The reader is referred to the subsequent brief account of the Second Ver- 
mont Brigade for further details of the history of the Twelfth Regiment. 

Tlie Fifth and Eleventh Regiments, Vermont Brigade — The Fifth Vermont 
Regiment was mustered into the service September 16, 1S61. Nearly 350 of 
its members were from Rutland county, distributed about as follows: Benson, 
Co. B, 9; Co. H, 8; Co. K, i. Brandon, Co. A, i ; Co. H, 66; Co. G, 3. 
Castleton, Co. G, 3 ; Co. L 2. Chittenden, Co. B, i ; Co. G, 4 ; Co. H, 3. 
Clarendon, Co. B, I ; Co. G, 8. Danby, Co. E, 2 ; Co. F, i. Fairhaven, i. 
Hubbardton, Co. A, i ; Co. H, 4. Ira, Co. G, 6. Mendon, Co. E, i ; Co. G, 
14. Middletown, Co. B, i ; Co. I, i. Mount Holly, Co. C, i ; Co. G, 7 ; Co. I, 7. 
Mount Tabor, Co. E, i. Pawlet, Co. E, 14 ; Co. G, i ; Co. I, i. Pittsfield, Co. 
G, 6 ; Co. D, I. Pittsford, Co. C, i ; Co. G, 18 ; Co. H, 3. Pouhney, Co. H, 
I ; Co. I, 29 ; Co. E, i ; other companies, 3. Rutland, Co. G, 47 ; Co. A, i ; 
Co. B, I ; Co. E, 2 ; Co. I, i ; Co. H, 2. Sherburne, Co. G, 2 ; Shrewsbury, 



82 History of Rutland County. 

Co. G, 3; Co. I, 8. Sudbur)-, Co. H, 19. Tinmouth, Co. G, 4; Co. I, 5. 
Wallingford, Co. E, 12; Co. I, 7. Wells, Co. E, 2; Co. I, 2. Wcsthaven, 
Co. B, 2. 

There were reported as having enhstcd in this regiment after September 30, 
1864, 3 from Brandon, I from Castleton, I from Fairhaven, 2 from Hubbard- 
ton, I from Sudbury, and I from WalHngford. 

The field and staff officers at the time it was mustered into the service were 
as follows : 

Colotiel. — Henry A. Smalley. He was a regular army officer on leave of 
absence, and his leave was revoked September 10, 1862, and Lewis A. Grant 
was promoted to the colonelcy. 

Lientcftant- Colonel. — Nathan Lord, jr. Promoted to colonel of the Sixth 
Regiment September 16, 1861. 

Major. — Lewis A. Grant. Promoted to lieutenant-colonel September 25, 
1861; wounded December 14, 1862; promoted to brigadier- general April 
27, 1864. 

Adjutant — Edward M. Brown. Promoted lieutenant-colonel Eighth Ver- 
mont January 8, 1862. 

Quartermaster — Aldis O. Brainerd. Resigned May 28, 1862. 

Surgeon — William P. Russell. Honorably discharged October 11, 1862, 
for disability. 

Assistant Surgeon — Henry C. Shaw. Died September 7, 1862, at Alex- 
andria, Va. 

Chaplain — Volney M. Simons. Resigned in March, 1862. 

The Fifth Regiment rendezvoused at St. Albans, remaining there about two 
weeks, when they started for Virginia, going into camp first on Meridian Hill, 
near Washington, and two days later to Chain Bridge. Remaining there a 
short time, they moved to Camp Griffin, three miles distant, and remained 
through the winter ; in the spring they entered the peninsula campaign. On 
the i6th of April the regiment took part in the battle of "The Chimneys," or 
Lee's Mills. The Fifth, now a part of the " Vermont Brigade," comprising the 
Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Regiments, was in command of Briga- 
dier-General W. T. H. Brooks. In this engagement the Fifth was not so 
actively employed as some of the other regiments. In his report General 
Brooks says, after stating that the skirmishers of the Third and Fourth Regi- 
ments opened on the enemy : " A company of picked men from the Fifth was 
deployed in front of the chimneys and advanced under a heavy fire of shell and 
canister down the slope to the water's edge below the dam, where they remained 
sheltered during the day and were in position to greatly harass the enemy in 
working his guns." Again in his report General Brooks says : " Colonels 
Hyde and Smalley (the latter of the Fifth Regiment) are also deserving of 
notice for their activity and the dispositions of their regiments during the day." 
Two men were killed in the regiment and seven wounded. 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 83 

The next engagement in whicli tlie Fifth took part was the battle of Wil- 
liamsburg, on the 5th of May, 1862. General E. D. Kej'es was then in com- 
mand of the brigade. The brigade previous to the opening of the battle was 
bivouacked near the enemy and occupied a portion of the front during the suc- 
ceeding action, and was in support of Mott's Battery. The report that the 
enemy had evacuated their works at this point reached tlie Union forces Sun- 
day morning of the 4th ; the brigade was placed under arms and, on the 5th, 
under command of Lieutenant Grant, sent across the dam on Skiff Creek; the 
enemy was not discovered and the troops were bivouacked. On the fol- 
lowing day the brigade was in reserve to support Hancock's brigade, not being 
actively engaged. June 29 Colonel Lewis A. Grant was promoted to briga- 
dier-general and took command of the brigade. 

In the succeeding operations about Golding's Farm, Savage's Station and 
White Oak Swamp, at each of which points engagements were fought, the Fifth 
was honorably employed. At the first named point the Second, Fifth and 
Sixth Regiments were brought up to support the Fourth, which became hotly 
engaged while supporting Hancock's brigade on picket duty. Although under 
heavy fire during their approach to their position, they did not become act- 
ively engaged. These movements occurred on the 27th, and on the 28th the 
brigade was subjected to heavy shelling, which became so destructive that a 
change of camp was made prior to the change of base to the James River. On 
the 29th the brigade left its camp at Golding's Farm for the grand movement. 
After passing Savage's Station the division to which the brigade was attached 
was ordered to return to that point to repel an attack. This was done and the 
brigade formed as follows : The Fifth, Lieutenant- Colonel Grant, in line on 
the right ; the Sixth, Colonel Lord, deployed to the left ; the Second, Colonel 
Whiting, in column in support of the Fifth ; the Third, Lieutenant-Colonel W. 
G. Veazey, in column in support of the Sixth. Passing through a wood into 
an open field, the Fifth encountered a regiment of the enemy, which was routed 
in brilliant style. As soon as the firing began the Second and Third Regi- 
ments deployed and became hotly engaged. General Brooks says in his re- 
port : "The conduct of the troops in this action was generally very commend- 
able. Of those that were under my own eye I take pleasure in mentioning 
the names of Colonel Lord, Lieutenant-Colonel Grant, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Blunt, Lieutenant-Colonel Veazey," followed by many other names. After 
the engagement the brigade crossed the White Oak Swamp, and reached its 
new encampment without further incident. 

The brigade was engaged in the battle at Crampton Gap, on the 14th of 
September, and Antietam on the 17th, but in the former the Fifth Regiment 
was not in active conflict. At Antietam the brigade lay under fire for forty- 
eight hours, the casualties being quite numerous from artillery and sharp- 
shooters. 



84 History of Rutland County. 

In the first battle at Fredericksburg, in December, 1862, the brigade, then 
commanded by Colonel Henry Whiting of the Second Regiment, was distin- 
guished for its gallantry. The losses were twenty-six killed and one hundred 
and forty-one wounded ; ten of the killed and thirty of the wounded were from 
the Fifth Regiment. At the second battle of Fredericksburg, May 3, and at 
Banks's Ford on the 8th, the conduct of this brigade could not be excelled. In 
the face of a terrific fire they stormed and carried the Fredericksburg Heights 
on the 3d, and the next day, while protecting the rear of the Sixth Corps in 
its crossing of the river, large bodies of the enemy were repeatedly hurled 
against them, but in vain. They were attacked by and repulsed three brigades 
of four regiments each, thus saving the Sixth Corps. The total killed were 
thirty and wounded two hundred and twenty-seven ; of these the Fifth Regi- 
ment lost three killed and eleven wounded. 

On the 5th of June the brigade again crossed the Rappahannock at Fred- 
ericksburg and assaulted and carried the rebel works, taking many prisoners. 
At the battle of Gettysburg the brigade was not actively engaged. On the 
lOth of July, near Funkstown, Md., they met the enemy in superior force and 
gallantly repulsed them, holding a skirmish line of three miles in length, with- 
out supports within assisting distance, against repeated attacks by strong lines 
of infantry. 

The brigade moved with the Army of the Potomac into Virginia, in pursuit 
of the enemy, and were then detached and. sent to New York City to aid in 
enforcing order at the elections of that year. Returning they were stationed 
near Culpepper, Va. 

In summing up the operations of the Vermont Brigade thus far, the adjutant- 
general said : " Too much honor cannot be awarded by the people of Vermont 
to the officers and men of this gallant brigade. They are the men who re- 
sponded among the earliest to the call of the nation for assistance in suppress- 
ing the Rebellion and restoring and preserving the national existence. They 
have fought gallantly in every battle in which the Army of the Potomac has 
been engaged since the war commenced. Distinguished alike for bravery and 
discipline, they have acquired for themselves an imperishable record in history, 
and have won for the troops of the State in the field a reputation for unflinching 
courage and dashing bravery, which is only equaled by the distinction which 
the people of the State have earned for persistent loyalty to the Union, which 
is their proudest boast." 

The constitution of the brigade remained as before until the 15th of May, 
1864, when the Eleventh Vermont Regiment was added to it; it also remain- 
ed a part of the Second Division of the Sixth Corps. October i, 1863, found 
the brigade encamped near Culpepper, Va., whence they marched on the 8th to 
the Rapidan, fifteen miles; thence on the lOth to Culpepper, fifteen miles; 
thence on the iith to Rappahannock Station, twelve miles; thence on the 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 85 

1 2th to Brandy Station, five miles; thence, October 13, to Kettle Run, near 
Bristow Station, thirty miles; thence on the 14th to Little River Pike, near 
Chantilly, fifteen miles, and thence on the following day, to Chantilly, two 
miles. Here the brigade rested after these arduous marches until the 19th 
of October, when the march was made to Gainesville, twelve miles, 
where the Sixth Regiment, while on picket, had a slight skirmish with 
the enemy's cavalry, but without loss. On the 20th the brigade led the ad- 
vance of the Sixth Corps, driving back the enemy's cavalry to Warrenton, 
twelve miles. Here the brigade remained encamped until November 7, 
when they advanced to Rappahannock Station, where the enemy was met in 
force. The brigade, however, was not engaged, but was under heavy artillery 
fire all of the afternoon ; no casualties. On the 8th the brigade crossed the 
Rappahannock and advanced to Brandy Station, where they went into camp 
on the 9th and remained until the 27th ; on that day they moved four miles 
and supported the Third Corps in the battle of Locust Grove ; the brigade 
was only under artillery fire and suffered little. On the 2d of December they 
recrossed the Rapidan and went into camp at Brandy Station, remaining there 
with little of incident until the last week of February, when they accompanied 
the Sixth Corps on a week's reconnaissance to near Orange Court-House. 
The old camp was then resumed and kept until the 4th of May, when the brig- 
ade recrossed the Rapidan at Germania Ford and went into camp two miles 
to the south of the ford. The 5 th and 6th the brigade was actively engaged in 
the battle of the Wilderness. On the morning of the 5th the rebels were en- 
gaged in a movement to cut off Hancock's Corps (which had crossed the river 
below the Ford) from the main army. To prevent this the Vermont and two 
other brigades were detached from the Sixth Corps. As the brigade came to the 
crossing of the " Brock " Road and the turnpike, they found the rebel advance 
driving the Union cavalry before them. The brigade was formed at the cross- 
ing and hastily threw up slight entrenchments. The order was then given to 
advance to the attack, a movement which the enemy was at the same time be- 
ginning. The two lines met in a thick wood, where little of either opposing 
force could be seen by the other, and the great batde of the Wilderness began. 
The Vermont Brigade held the key to the position and seemed to realize the 
fact. Unflinchingly they met and returned the galling fire of the enemy, 
while their ranks were rapidly thinning. Every assault was gallantly repulsed, 
notwithstanding every regimental commander in the brigade, except one, was 
either killed or wounded. A thousand brave officers and men fell in the brig- 
ade that day, and the living slept amidst the bloody horrors of the field. 
The fierce struggle was renewed on the morning of the 6th, the enemy having 
fallen back a short distance and slightly entrenched. Again and again 
during the day was the Vermont Brigade assaulted with the most determined 
vigor, but the heroic troops of the Green Mountain State were equal to every 



86 History ok Rutland County. 

demand upon their bravery, and after signally repulsing the last attack, retired 
to the entrenchments they had thrown up on the Brock Road ; late in the af- 
ternoon another desperate attack was made by the enemy upon this line, but 
this time they were again repulsed and defeated. On the morning of the /th 
a strong skirmish line from the Sixth Regiment was sent out and drove back 
the enemy's skirmish line, revealing the fact that the main body of the rebels 
had fallen back. Soon after dark the flank movement towards SpottS)'lvania 
was begun. 

The brigade crossed the Rapidan on the 4th with 2,800 effective men ; the 
losses in the two days' fighting were 1,232, of which the Fifth Regiment lost 
twenty-eight killed, one hundred and seventy-nine wounded and seventeen 
missing. Of the officers in this regiment Captains Alonzo R. Hurlburt, George 
D. Davenport and Charles J. Ormsbee, and Lieutenants Orvis H. Sweet and 
Watson O. Beach, were either killed or wounded ; Ormsbee and Sweet were 
both killed. Lieutenant- Colencl John R. Lewis, commanding the Fifth, was 
severely wounded. 

During the whole of the night of the 7th of May the brigade was on the 
march, arriving at Chancellorsville the next morning ; here they were detailed 
to guard the Sixth Corps' train. About four o'clock p. m. they were ordered 
to the front ; a forced march of four miles was made and the battle-field 
reached just before dark. The 9th was spent in fortifying the position of the 
brigade and on the loth the skirmish line was advanced, driving back those of 
the enemy, the Fourth Regiment receiving high commendation for its conduct. 
During the day the Second Regiment, the Fifth, under command of Major C. 
P. Dudley, and the Sixth (the whole under the command of Colonel Thomas 
O. Seaver), formed a part of the column which charged the enemy's works, the 
Vermont troops being in the rear line. The front lines were at first successful, 
capturing the works and many prisoners, but were driven back. The Vermont 
troops mentioned then advanced under a terrible fire and occupied the rebel 
works, the other regiments falling back. Orders were now given for all to fall 
back, but they failed to reach the Second Regiment, which refused to retire until 
they were positively ordered to do so. It was in this charge that the brave 
Major Dudley fell of wounds which caused his death. The brigade retained 
its position, constantly under fire through the i ith of May, and early on the 
1 2th moved with the corps to the left to co-operate with Hancock's Corps. 
The latter had captured the enemy's works at that point and the rebels were 
engaged in a desperate attempt to regain them, when the Vermont Brigade 
marched into position under a heavy fire. Two lines were formed on the ex- 
treme left and skirmishers thrown out under a brisk fire. To quote from the 
report of the adjutant- general : "At this time the enemy were making the 
most determined effort to retake the line of works carried by Hancock and 
now held by the Sixth Corps, the key of the position being at the angle in the 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 87 

center, and that being the point at which the most desperate attacks were 
made. Brigadier- General Grant, with the regiments of the second line, was 
ordered to the right to assist General Wheaton, and Colonel Seaver was left 
in command of the front line and the skirmishers. General Wheaton, with 
his brigade, was endeavoring to advance through thick brush, and in the face 
of a deadly fire from the enemy's rifle pits, and the Vermont regiments moved 
up promptly to his support, the Fourth Regiment taking and holding the front 
line. It was found impracticable to carry the enemy's works upon the right 
by a direct attack, and the enemy were gaining advantage in the center. 
Leaving the Fourth Regiment in its position. General Grant returned to the 
center, and being joined by Colonel Seaver with the residue of the brigade, the 
whole were put into the engagement, except tlie Sixth Regiment, which was 
held in reserve." 

This was a critical point and a critical time for both armies and the fighting 
was of the most desperate character ; the combatants were separated by a 
mere breastwork of logs and rails, and the conflict was practically hand to 
hand. The terrible struggle continued for eight hours, when the Vermont 
Brigade was relieved ; the works were held, but the losses were heavy. The 
brigade camped for the night on the extreme right. 

On the 13th the brigade, with small exception, was not actively engaged 
and took a position towards night on the left near the scene of its former strug- 
gle. During the 14th the Vermont Brigade held the extreme left. On the i6th 
Colonel Seaver with his regiment and one from Massachusetts, made a recon- 
naissance in the direction of Spottsylvania Court-House, gallantly driving in 
the enemy's skirmishers and accomplishing the duty to which he was assigned. 
On the morning of the i8th the Second and Sixth Corps charged the enemy's 
works, advancing about half a mile, under heavy artillery fire. The Vermont 
Brigade held the front line for some time, when the whole were ordered to fall 
back. Early on the morning of the 19th the brigade advanced with the corps 
about a mile and fortified its position, remaining there two days. At noon of 
the 2 1st the brigade moved about three-fourths of a mile to the rear, leaving 
a strong skirmish line in their works. Just before nightfall the enemy in strong 
force broke through this skirmish line and Colonel Seaver was ordered out with 
his regiment to re-establish it ; the task was gallantly performed. That night 
the corps marched towards Guinness's Station. The total losses of the Fifth 
Regiment from the time of the crossing of the Rapidan to this date were thirty- 
eight killed; two hundred and twenty-nine wounded and fifty-one missing — 
a total of three hundred and eighteen. The losses in the brigade were one 
thousand six hundred and fifty, more than one-half of the entire force that 
crossed the river. 

On the 15th of May the brigade was joined by the Eleventh Vermont Reg- 
iment, which had been mustered into the service September i, 1862, and con- 



History of Rutland County. 



stituted the First Regiment of Vermont Heavy Artillery after December lO, 
1863. Almost all of its companies contained at some period of its history, re- 
cruits from Rutland county, which were distributed about as follows : Benson, 
Co. C, 13 ; and 3 not credited to a company. Brandon, Co. B, i ; Co. F, i ; 
Co. M, I ; Castleton, Co. C, 32 ; Co. M, 5 ; i not credited to a company. Clar- 
rendon, Co. C, 5 ; Co. L, i ; Co. M, 2 ; Chittenden, Co. C, i ; Fairhaven, Co. 
C, 15; Co. L, I ; 3 not credited to companies; Hubbardton, Co. C, 2; Ira, 
Co. C, 3 ; Middletown, Co. C, i ; Co. M, 2 ; Mount Holly, Co. M, 2 ; Mount 
Tabor, Co. C, i ; Pawlet, Co. C, 6 ; Co. G, 2 ; Co. L, 2 ; Co. M, i ; 2 not 
credited to company ; Pittsfield, Co. B, 4 ; Pittsford, Co. C, 3 ; Co. L, 2 ; 
Co. M, 2; Poultney, Co. C, 16; Rutland, Co. A, i ; Co. B, i ; Co. C, 13; 
Co. D, I ; Co. E, 7; Co. G, i ; Co. M, 4; Co. K, 10; Sherburne, Co. H, 5 ; 
Shrewsbury, Co. C, 4; Co. E, 2; Sudbury, Co. C, 3; Co. L, 3; Co. M, i; 
Tinmouth, Co. C, i ; Co. L, i ; Wallingford, Co. C, 7 ; Co. E, i ; Co. M, i ; 
I not credited to company ; Westhaven, Co. C, 9. 

A few words as to the career of the Eleventh Regiment previous to its as- 
sociation with the Second Brigade. After its muster it left Brattleboro and 
was first stationed at F"ort Lincoln, near Bladensburg, Va., in the northern de- 
fenses of Washington for about two months. It was then (December 10, 1862) 
transferred to the Heavy Artillery branch of the service and occupied Forts Ste- 
vens, Slocum and Totten, near Silver Spring, D. C. Two additional companies 
(L and M) were recruited for the regiment in 1863, giving the regiment one 
thousand eight hundred men. It performed duty in that vicinity, without 
memorable incident, until May, 1864, when it was assigned to the Verm.ont 
Brigade, as stated. 

Starting on the night of the 21st from Spottsylvania the brigade made ar- 
duous marches to Guinness's Station, thence to Harris's store on the 22d ; to the 
North Anna on the 23d ; crossed the river on the 24th, and two days later 
advanced to Little River, destroying the railroad at that point ; on the night 
of the 25th they recrossed the North Anna and marched in the mud to Ches- 
terfield Station on the Fredericksburg Railroad ; continued the march on the 
26th and on the 27th crossed the Pamunky River three miles above Hanover 
Town and moved to the right two miles towards Hanover Court-House, where 
they remained entrenched two days. On the 29th the brigade marched to a 
new position on the Tolopotamy River where they remained two days. Major 
Chamberlain's battalion of the Eleventh Regiment being engaged in skirmish- 
ing nearly the whole of one day. 

On the 1st of June the brigade marched to Cold Harbor and participated 
in tlie attack on the enemy, holding the extreme left, the Fifth Regiment be- 
ing in suppoit of a battery. A charge was made by the Second Regiment 
and Major Fleming's battalion and Captain Sears's company of the Eleventh, 
under a destructive fire, displaying great gallantry. On the following day the 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 



division containing this brigade held a portion of the enemy's works which had 
been captured, under a destructive fire. In the general attack on the enemy 
on the 3d, the Third and Fifth Regiments were in the front line of battle and 
greatly exposed ; their losses were heavy. During the night the Third and 
Fifth Regiments and two battalions of the Eleventh, under Colonel Seaver, re- 
lieved a portion of the front line. The casualties in the Fifth, from the 21st 
of May to the 5th of June were eight killed ; twenty-two wounded ; one miss- 
ing. In the Eleventh, thirteen killed ; one hundred and twenty-one wounded. 
Captain Merrill T. Samson, of the Fifth, Lieutenant Hiram C. Bailey of the 
Second, and Lieutenant Henry C. Miller, of the Third, fell in the engagement 
on the 3d. From the 3d of June to the i ith the brigade held the front line at 
two important points, and on the evening of the 12th moved back to a new 
line of works, a mile in the rear, leaving the Fourth Regiment in the front as 
skirmishers, and about midnight started on the march for Petersburg. For 
twelve days the brigade had been under almost incessant fire, evincing the 
most heroic bravery and almost marvelous endurance. Major Richard B. 
Crandall, of the Sixth Regiment, a gallant young ofl^cer, fell on the 7th. From 
the 4th to the lOth of June the Fifth Regiment lost three wounded and the 
Eleventh two killed and seventeen wounded. 

Regarding the conduct of the Eleventh Regiment, which was new to active 
service in the field, it is but just to quote from the reports of Brigadier- 
General Grant, who said: " Special mention ought to be made of the officers 
and men of the Eleventh for their gallant bearing in the charge of May 18. 
This was the first time they had been under fire, but they exhibited the cool- 
ness and noble bearing of the ' Vermonters,' and fairly stood beside the veteran 
regiments of the old brigade." 

June 13 the brigade crossed the Chickahominy after a march of twenty-four 
miles, and encamped. The march was resumed next da\' and on the 17th they 
occupied the rebel works near Petersburg which had been captured. During 
the day the enemy was attacked in his new position and driven back, the Sec- 
ond and Fifth Regiments holding the skirmish line. The lines at Petersburg 
were held under heavy artillery fire until the evening of the 20th, when the 
brigade was moved to the left, relieving a division of the Second Corps. From 
the II th to the 20th of June the Fifth Regiment lost two men killed and 
wounded and the Eleventh five. On the evening of June 21 the Sixth Corps 
was moved six miles to the entire left of the army, and on the night of the 22d 
the Vermont Brigade took position about a mile from the Weldon Railroad. 
The 23d was occupied in the destruction of the road, during which the enemy 
made an attack from the woods on the right and closing on the rear of the 
Fourth Regiment and Major Fleming's battalion, cut them off. A desperate 
fight ensued and the men surrendered only when driven to the last extremity. 
Captain William C. Tracy, of the Fourth, and Merritt H. Sherman, of Major 



90 History of Rutland County. 

A. F.Walker's battalion of the Eleventh Regiment, were killed during the day. 
Between the 20th and the 26th of June the Eleventh Regiment lost nine killed 
and twent}'- seven wounded, with two hundred and si.xty- three reported 
missing. 

On the 29th of June the Vermont Brigade led the advance of the Sixth 
Corps to Reams's Station on the Weldon Railroad. After one day out they 
occupied their former position until July 8, when they marched to City Point 
and on the 9th embarked for Washington. On the 13th the brigade marched 
to Poolesville, Maryland, where the rear guard of the enemy was overtaken 
and routed ; thence they marched to Snicker's Gap and on the 23d returned 
to the capital. On the 26th they again left Washington for Harper's Ferry, 
going into camp on Bolivar Heights on the night of the 29th. On the 30th 
they returned to Frederick City, Md. This was Sunday, and Major Aldace F. 
Walker, in his admirable little book on The Vermont Brigade in the Shcnan- 
doali Valley, says: "It was the hardest day's march we ever made. The heat 
was intense ; the day was the very hottest of all the season ; the clouds of dust 
were actually blinding ; the pace almost a gallop ; the poor men struggled 
bravely, ambulances were crowded, shady spots covered with exhausted sol- 
diers, men falling out of the ranks at every rod, overpowered by the heat and 
positively unable to proceed ; actual cases of sunstroke by the score and by the 
hundred ; a great scarcity of water ; but no halt or chance for rest until to- 
ward night we reached Frederick City." No more vivid and truthful picture 
could be drawn in a few words of a forced march under a southern sun. 

August 5 the brigade proceeded to Harper's Ferry and up the Shenandoah 
valley to Strasburgh, where in a skirmish the Second Regiment lost two men 
on the 14th. The i6th the brigade returned to Charlestown, Va., remaining 
until the 21st, when they were attacked by the enemy. The brigade was sub- 
jected to a destructive fire from 9 a. m. until dark. The loss of the Fifth Regi- 
ment was six killed and wounded and in the Eleventh thirty-two, including 
the gallant Lieutenant-Colonel George E. Chamberlain, who was wounded 
early in the day, while bravely leading his battalion, and died soon afterward. 
In the report of Colonel J. M. Warner, in command of the Eleventh, he pays 
high tribute of praise to Captain A. Brown, jr., of the Fifth, and Major Aldace 
F. Walker of the Eleventh, as well as to many others in the brigade. 

The brigade lay at Harper's Ferry from the 22d to the 29th of August, 
when it moved to Charlestown, remaining in that vicinity until September 19, 
making in the mean time a reconnaissance to the Opequan River, where a slight 
skirmish was had. On the 19th the brigade crossed the Opequan in early morn- 
ing and went into position under heavy shelling on the Winchester pike. In 
front was a section of rolling country, the crests being held by the enemy so as 
to command the valleys through which our forces must pass to the attack. The 
advance was therefore made rapidly over the crest in face of a galling musketry 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 



fire, and the enemy were driven baci< in confusion. About one o'clock tlie 
brigade was compelled to fall back half a mile, having suffered severely. About 
3 p. m. the entire line again advanced. The Vermont Brigade was e.\posed, 
from the time when they reached within a mile from Winchester, to a heavy 
niusketr)' fire in front and an enfilading fire from a battery on the left. More 
than two hundred prisoners were captured by the brigade. The casualties in 
this engagement were two hundred and fifty-six total, twenty-two of which in 
killed and wounded occurred in the Fifth Regiment and eighty- five in the 
Eleventh. Captain Charles Buxton and Lieutenant Dennis Duhigg of the 
Eleventh were killed ; both excellent officers and recenti}' promoted, the 
former to major and the latter to a captain. 

The brigade participated in the engagement at Fisher's Hill on the 2 1st and 
22d and at Mount Jackson on the 23d. October 1 they were in camp at Har- 
risonburgh, and on tlie 5th moved to New Market ; the 6th to Woodstock ; on 
the /th to Strasburgh ; on the loth to near Fort Ro\'al ; on the 13th to Mill- 
town, and on the 14th to Middletovvn. On the 19th of October the army lay 
upon the easterly side of Cedar Creek, the Sixth Corps on the right, and the 
Vermont Brigade holding the extreme right, except one brigade. At daybreak 
the enemy attacked in strong force on the left ; the Si.xth Corps was moved to 
that part of the line and formed nearly at right angles to its former position, 
there being now but one brigade on the left of the Vermont. Before the troops 
could take position Major Walker's battalion of the Eleventh Regiment and the 
Fifth and Sixth Regiments, under command of Major Johnson, of the Second, 
were thrown forward as skirmishers and drove in the rebel skirmish line. The 
brigade then advanced with the division and were soon engaged in a desperate 
struggle, checking for a time the impetuous advance of the enemy. About this 
time the right gave way and the division fell back a short distance, the Vermont 
Brigade in the center, the First Brigade, under Colonel Warner, of the Eleventh 
Regiment, the right, and the Third Brigade the left. Upon this line the enemy 
made a desperate attack, the brunt of which fell on the Vermont Brigade. Gen- 
eral Ricketts, commanding the corps, being wounded, and General Getty, who 
commanded the Second Division, taking his place. General Grant assumed com- 
mand of the division, and Lieutenant-Colonel Tracy, of the Second Vermont, 
who was then the ranking officer in the brigade, took command of the brigade_ 
Again the enemy assaulted the lines and were repulsed with great loss, and the 
left of the brigade suffered severely. The persistent and gallant resistance of 
the Sixth Corps, of which the brigade was a part, gave opportunity for proper 
preparations for the final stand in the engagement. Up to that time the tide 
had been against the Union forces, and the losses had been very heavy. The 
enem\' now made a most determined attack, the Eighth and Sixth Corps 
receiving the heaviest of it; the whole line soon gave way and were pressed 
backward toward Newtown. 



92 History of Rutland County. 

At this crisis General Sheridan made his memorable appearance on the field. 
Riding down the pike he halted in front of the Second Brigade and asked what 
troops they were. " The Sixth Corps !" " The Vermont Brigade !" was- 
shouted simultaneously from the ranks. "Then we are all right !" he exclaimed, 
and swinging his hat over his head he rode away to the right amid the shouts- 
of the men. Upon his return General Wright took command of the Sixth 
Corps, General Getty of the Second Division and General Grant of the Vermont 
Brigade. During the remainder of the engagement the Vermont Brigade shared 
in the heaviest of the fighting, holding a position much of the time far in ad- 
vance of the other troops until the enemy was finally driven back and across- 
Cedar Creek, their lines entirely broken up. Reaching Cedar Creek, the in- 
fantry was reorganized, and there also the Vermont Brigade, after a pursuit of 
the retreating enemy a distance of three miles, was found in advance of the 
remainder of the troops. The casualties in this engagement were two killed 
and seventeen wounded in the Fifth Regiment, and nine killed and seventy- 
four wounded in the Eleventh. Among the killed was Lieutenant Oscar Lee, 
of the Eleventh. Lieutenant Edward P. Lee, of the Eleventh, was among the 
wounded, and Lieutenant Thomas Kavanagh, of the Fifth. 

The brigade moved to Strasburgh on October 21, and remained until the 
9th of November ; thence to Newtown, and thence on the loth to Kearntown,. 
where they performed picket duty until December 9. They were then trans- 
ported to Washington and thence to City Point ; thence to Meade's Station 
and on the 13th moved out on the Squirrel Level Road to works occupied 
previously by the Fifth Corps. Here the brigade went into winter quarters ; 
but the picket duty was very severe. On the 25th of March the corps charged 
upon F'ort P'isher, capturing nearly the whole of the enemy's picket line. One 
man was killed in the Fifth Regiment and seven wounded ; and in the Elev- 
enth one killed and twelve wounded ; one of the latter was Lieutenant Wm. 
G. Dickinson, of the Eleventh. 

On the second day of April the Vermont Brigade was hotly engaged in 
the struggle which resulted in the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond. 
In the night of the ist the brigade moved out from camp and took posi- 
tion near the skirmish line entrenchments which had been captured from 
the enemy a few days earlier. The Second Division was in the center of 
the Sixth Corps and the Vermont Brigade on the left of the division. At 
one o'clock the corps was in position and laid down to await the attack. 
About two o'clock a heavy fire was opened along the entire skirmish line, 
which was vigorously replied to by the enemy. During this fire Brevet 
Major- General L. A. Grant was wounded, and the command of the brigade 
devolved upon Lieutenant-Colonel Tracy, of the Second Regiment. At the 
signal agreed upon the brigade moved out of the entrenchments and pressed 
forward toward the enemj-'s line, driving in their skirmishers ; then with a cheer 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 93 

the command charged forward towards the enemy's works, five hundred yards 
distant. When half the distance was passed they were assailed by a heavy rain 
of musket balls with an enfilading artillery fire from the forts on either hand. 
The line wavered momentarily, but again pushed on under terrific fire, all vie- 
ing with each other in the race to be first at the works. The enemj^ could not 
withstand the assault and fled ; two earthworks, one on the right of a ravine 
■containing four guns, and the other on the left with two guns, were captured. 
The honor of being the first to break the enemy's line was awarded to the Ver- 
mont Brigade, and Captain Charles G. Gould is said to have been the first man 
of the Sixth Corps to mount the enemy's works. His regiment was in the first 
line of the brigade, and in the charge he was far in advance of his command. 
Upon mounting the works he was severely wounded in the face by a bayonet 
thrust and was struck by clubbed muskets ; but he slew the man who wielded 
the bayonet, and retired only when his command had come to his assistance 
and the rebels were routed. Beyond the works the brigade was halted briefly 
to re-form, and then the pursuit of the flying enemy continued for about four 
miles to near Hatcher's Run — a charge that must go down into history as 
one of the most brilliant and successful of the war. Nothing could withstand 
the onward pressing troops. Brevet Major Elijah Wales, of the Second Regi- 
ment, with two men, captured a piece of artillery and turning it on the enemy, 
fired a charge which the rebels themselves had placed in the gun. Major Wm. 
J. Sperry, of the Sixth, and Lieutenant George A. Bailey, of the Eleventh, with 
a few men, captured two guns and turned them on the routed enemy. Cap- 
tain George G. Tilden, of the Eleventh, with about a dozen men, captured two 
pieces, eleven commissioned officers and sixty-two men of the F"orty-second 
Mississippi. Sergeant Lester G. Hack, of Company F, Fifth Regiment, charged 
a squad of rebels surrounding a stand of colors, knocked down the bearer and 
captured the flag. Corporal Chas. W. Dolloff, Company K, Eleventh Regi- 
ment, also captured a stand of colors ; but there were too many deeds of in- 
dividual heroism to mention here. About 9 o'clock A. M. the brigade moved 
back along the line of works to a point about three miles south of Petersburg 
and formed in line of battle with the Eleventh on the right, the Second, Third, 
Fifth, Sixth and Fourth Regiments on its left, in the order named. An ad- 
vance was made and a battery of artillery captured in the yard of the Turn- 
brell House, where General Lee had his headquarters. Captain Robert Tem- 
pleton, with a squad of men of the Eleventh, was conspicuous in planning and 
executing the feat. That night the brigade established its headquarters at the 
Turnbrell House. The last stand of the enemy before Petersburg was ended. 
The casualties among the Rutland county men were six killed and thirty-four 
wounded in the Fifth Regiment, and five killed and forty-five wounded in the 
Eleventh. Among the killed was Lieutenant Geo. O. French, of the Eleventh, 
who fell in the first assault, and Charles C. Morey, of the Second. Major- 



94 History of Rutland County. 

Genera! Meade, in his official report, speaks of the gallant attack of the Sixth 
Corps on the Second of April, as " the decisive movement of the campaign." 
Petersburg was evacuated that afternoon and Riclimond the next morning. 

The brigade joined in the pursuit of Lee, exhibiting the same endurance 
and patience on that hard march that had before characterized their move- 
ments. Reaching Farmville on the 7th, the brigade was detailed to guard sup- 
plies and remained there until the surrender of Lee on the 9th. From there 
they returned to Burkesville Junction, where they remained until the 23d of 
April, when they left for Danville; here they remained until May i8th, when 
they were transported to Manchester, Va., and there remained to the 24th. 
They then marched to Washington and remained in camp near Munson's Hill 
until mustered out. On the 28th of June the Vermont Brigade, one of the 
grandest organizations of the army, ceased to exist as an organization. Battal- 
ions of the Second, Third and Fourth Regiments, remaining in the service, 
were assigned to the Third Brigade, First Division, of a Provisional Corps and 
a battalion of the Eleventh Regiment was transferred to the defenses of Wash- 
ington. 

We have given this noble brigade liberally of our limited space, perhaps to 
the detriment of the records of other organizations ; but the heroic service of 
this organization seems to demand that no less should be said ; indeed, it should 
be far more. Its full history is yet to be written. 

The Seventh Regiment. — This organization, numbering 1,014 officers and 
men, was mustered into the service at Rutland on the 12th of Februar)', 1862, 
under command of Colonel George T. Roberts (see notice of Twelfth Regi- 
ment in preceding page). It was recruited almost entirely in Rutland county 
and all of the towns were represented in its ranks, substantially according to 
the following statement : Benson, Co. A, i ; Co. C, i ; Co. I, 4 ; i not recorded 
to a company. Brandon, Co. B, 50 ; Co. E, i ; Co. F, 3 ; Co. H, i ; Co. K, 
3 ; 2 not recorded to a company. Castleton, Co. A, 6 ; Co. C, 4 ; Co. D, i ; 
Co. I, 9. Chittenden, Co. B 17; Co. C, i ; Co I, 3. Clarendon, Co. A, 1 ; 
Co. B, 10; Co. C, 2 ; Co. D, 5 ; Co. I, 7 ; Co. K, 2 ; i not recorded to a com- 
pany. Danby, Co. B, i ; Co. D, 17 ; Co. G, 3 ; Co. I, 8, Fairhaven, Co. C, 
14 ; Co. D, 2 ; Co, G, 4 ; Co. I, 2. Hubbardton, Co. A, i ; Co. D, i ; Co. H, 
I ; I not recorded to a company. Ira, Co. D, 2 ; Co. G, I ; Co. I, 2. Mendon, 
Co. B, 2 ; Co. D, 9 ; Co. H, i ; Co. K, i ; Co. I, 4. Middletown, Co. D, i ; Co. 
I, 3. Mount Holly, Co. A, i ; Co. D, 3 ; Co. G, 5 ; i not recorded to a com- 
pany. Mount Tabor, Co. D, 3. Pawlet, Co. B, i ; Co. D, 17; Co. H, 2; 
Co. E, I ; Co. K, 2 ; Co. I, 8 ; 2 not recorded to a company. Pittsford, Co, 
A, 2 ; Co. B, 24 ; Co. C, 3 ; Co. G, 3 ; Co. I, 5 ; i not recorded to a company. 
Pittsfield, Co. C, I. Poultney, Co. C, i ; Co. B, i ; Co. D, i ; Co. i, 25 ; Co. 
K, I ; I not recorded to a company. Rutland, Co. A, 6 ; Co. B, 24 ; Co. C, 
3 ; Co. D, 40 ; Co. E, 16 ; Co. G, 4 ; Co. H, i ; Co. I, 22 ; Co. K, 3 ; 5 officers. 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 



Sherburne, Co. B, I ; Co. D, 3 ; Co. H, 5. Shrewsbury, Co. D, 2 ; Co. G, 2 ; 
Co. I, 8. Sudbur)', Co. B, 3. Tuimouth, Co. C, i ; Co. D, 3 ; Co. I, 2. 
Wallingford, Co. A, 3 ; Co, B, i ; Co. D, 14; Co. H, i. Wells, A, i ; Co. C, 
I ; Co. D, I ; Co. I, 7 ; 5 not recorded to companies. Westhaven, Co. C, 2 ; 
Co. I, 3. 

The field and staft" officers of the Seventh, when organized, were as fol- 
lows : — 

Colonel, George T. Roberts ; lieutenant-colonel, Volney S. FuUam ; major, 
William C. Holbrook ; adjutant, Charles E. Parker; quartermaster, E. A. 
Morse ; surgeon, Francis W. Kelley ; chaplain, Henry M. Frost ; sergeant- 
major, George Brown ; quartermaster-sergeant, Samuel F. Buel ; commissary- 
sergeant, George E. Jones ; hospital-steward, Cyrus P. Rising. 

The companies were originally officered as follows : — 

Company A, Burlington. — Captain, David B. Beck ; first-lieutenant, Will- 
iam L. Harris; second-lieutenant, Hiram B. Fish. 

Company B, Brandon. — Captain, William Cronan ; first-lieutenant, Darwin 
A. Smalley ; second- lieutenant, Jackson V. Parker. 

Company C, Middlebury. — Captain, Henry M. Porter; first-lieutenant, E. 
V. N. Hitchcock ; second-lieutenant, John O. Dickinson. 

Company D, Rutland. — Captain, John B. Kilburn ; first-lieutenant, Will- 
iam B. Thrall ; second- lieutenant, George E. Croft. 

Company E, Johnson. — Captain, Daniel Lanclon ; first-lieutenant, George 
W. Sheldon; second-lieutenant, Richard T. Cull. 

Company F, Swanton. — Captain, Lorenzo D. Brooks; first-lieutenant, 
Edgar N. BuUard ; second-lieutenant, Rodney C. Gates. 

Company G, Cavendish. — Captain, Salmon Dutton ; first-lieutenant, George 
M. R. Howard; second-lieutenant, Leonard P. Bingham. 

Company H, Woodstock. — Captain, Mahlon Young; first-lieutenant, 
Henry H. French ; second-lieutenant, George H. Kelley. 

Company I, Poultney. — Captain, Charles C. Ruggles ; first-lieutenant, 
Charles Clark ; second-lieutenant, Austin E. Woodman. 

Company K, Northfield. — Captain, David P. Barker ; first-lieutenant, John 
L. Moseley ; second-lieutenant, Allen Spaulding. 

It was supposed that this regiment would form part of an expedition under 
General Butler, having for its field of action New Orleans and vicinity ; but 
many of the regiment would have preferred to join the army of the Potomac 
with other Vermont regiments. Through efforts of General Butler, as be- 
lieved, the regiment was finally placed under his command, much to its future 
sorrow. The regiment left for New York March 10, and after a long and 
uncomfortable voyage reached Ship Island on the 5th and lOth of April. No 
sooner had the regiment landed than the unjust conduct of General Butler be- 
gan ; the quartermaster was placed under arrest because he disembarked the 



96 History of Rutland County. 

men with their baggage, instead of the men only, as ordered. Little of im- 
portance occurred up to the 1st of May, at which time the Union forces oc- 
cupied New Orleans and the regiment was soon afterward ordered there. ^ 
They were then ordered to Carrollton, eight miles from the city, reaching there 
May 1 6th, where they were placed under command of Brigadier-General J. 
W. Phelps, the former colonel of the First Vermont ; many of his old com- 
mand were in the Seventh Regiment, and the reunion was very grateful. - 

On the 6th of June the regiment was ordered to Baton Rouge, but did not 
reach there until the 15th. On the 19th orders were recived to embark on 
transports and take part in a campaign against Vicksburg under General Will- 
iams. The force with which the capture of the city was expected to be ac- 
complished numbered only about 3,500 men. Vicksburg was reached on the 
25th and there Colonel Roberts rejoined the regiment and took command. 
Much sickness followed, and the regiment set to work on the famous " cut off," 
which resulted in failure. In his history of the Seventh Regiment, Colonel 
William C. Holbrook refers to this period as follows: " After a majority of our 
entire command had been brought down with malarial diseases, from inhaling 
the fumes and vapors which arose from the soil as it was excavated and ex- 
posed to the air and sun, a large auxiliary force of negroes, gathered from the 
surrounding country, was set to work. But notwithstanding, the expedition 
was a failure. The river persisted in falling, and we were not able to dig fast 
enough to keep pace with it, and so, much to our relief, wc were ordered to 
abandon the enterprise." 

Sickness in the regiment increased until, after the first fortnight, there were 
seldom one hundred men fit for duty, while almost every day one or two died. 
On the 15th of July the rebel ram Arkansas ran through the squadron of Far- 
ragut, only to be followed by the passage of the latter's vessels by the rebel bat- 
teries to his original position below Vicksburg. On this occasion occurred the 
death of Captain Lorenzo Brooks, of Company F, who was killed on the trans- 
port Cc-res, while in command of a squad of soldiers who had been sent to re- 
turn the negroes employed on the Butler ditch. 

As an evidence of the deplorable condition of this regiment relative to its 
health, it should be noted that a few days before the abandonment of the 
Vicksburg expedition. Captain John B. Kilburn, of Company D, was detailed 
to take the sick of the regiment to Baton Rouge. They were embarked on 
board the Morning Light and for three days were detained there awaiting or- 
ders and a convoy. There were 350 sick on the boat ; the weather was in- 

1 Among the sick left on the island was Captain Charles C. Ruggles, of Company I. He was suli- 
sequently sent to the hospital at Carrollton and when able assumed command of the convalescents in 
camp, .\ctuated by a desire to do more than he was able, he suffered a sunstroke, from the effects of 
which he died on the 24th of July, 1862. He was a favorite and brave officer. 

2 General Phelps was finally forced to resign, chiefly, it is claimed, from the persecution of General 
Butler, which raised a long controver.sy into which we cannot here enter. 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 97 

tensely hot and great suffering was experienced. The boat grounded on the 
first night of the passage, and while striving to get afloat two of the sick died; 
they were buried in their blankets on the shore. Although Dr. Blanchard was 
on board, he was unable to do much for the sick, as he had no medicines. 
Reaching Baton Rouge, the sick were got ashore, but six died during the re- 
moval. The main body of the expedition left Vicksburg on the evening of 
the 24th, the Seventh Regiment forming the rear guard. The organization 
that had started out thirty-six days previous nearly eight hundred strong, had 
now less than one hundred fit for duty, and at a review tliat occurred a few 
days before the battle of Baton Rouge, two or three of the companies were 
not represented at all, their services being needed in burying the dead. 
Among those who fell victims to the climate and exposure was Lieutenant 
Richard T. Cull, a faithful officer. He was buried at Baton Rouge with mil- 
iary honors. 

The battle of Baton Rouge was fought on the 5th of August. The action 
opened with firing from rebel skirmishers immediately in front of the Seventh, 
in the early morning before it was light. This was followed by a general at- 
tack, and the Union fojce being outnumbered was driven from stand to stand 
and finally forced to fall back on the main body, when the action became gen- 
eral. At this stage of the engagement there seems to have been no general 
understanding of the character of the attack ; the Seventh Regiment was drawn 
up in line of battle in front of its camp, according to orders, and while waiting 
further instructions the firing on the left became very heavy. Colonel Roberts 
moved the regiment in that direction, through the thick fog and smoke. Here 
the men were subjected to the somewhat indiscriminate firing of artillery in 
the rear, and to prevent casualties from this circumstance. Colonel Roberts 
moved the regiment back to its former position. It was during this movement 
that the brave officer fell, as detailed in an earlier page of this chapter. When 
the regiment reached its former position the battle was raging furiously in 
front of its camp and that of the Twenty-first Indiana. The fog and smoke 
were so dense that objects could not be seen ten feet distant. Colonel Roberts 
had hesitated to order his men to begin firing, fearing the Twenty-first Indi- 
ana might be directly in front. General Williams at this juncture rode up in 
a somewhat excited manner and peremptorily ordered the firing to open. The 
colonel promptly gave the order, and firing began. Only a few volleys had 
been fired when it was learned that the Indiana regiment was suffering from 
the shots, as Colonel Roberts had feared would be the case. Colonel Roberts 
did not hesitate to give the order to cease firing. This was his last command, 
as he immediately fell with a severe wound in his neck. From this time 
through the engagement the regiment, commanded temporarily by Captain 
afterward Major) Porter, bore an honorable share. Colonel N. A. M. Dudley, 
in command of the right wing, which embraced the Seventh, said in his report : 



g8 History of Rutland County. 

" It cannot be expected that I should mention the brave exploits of persons, 
or even regiments, particularly when all did so well. On no occasion did I 
see a single regiment misbehave ; all seemed to act with coolness and determi- 
nation that surprised even ourselves after the excitement was over. 
Captain Manning (after having fallen back) quickly rallied his men and went 
into battery on the right of the Indiana Twenty-first, well supported on the 
right by the Seventh Vermont. ... In the mean time the enemy ap- 
peared in strong force directly in front of the Indiana Twenty-first, Vermont 
Seventh and Massachusetts Thirtieth. At one time these three brave regi- 
ments stood face to face with the enemy, within forty yards, for full one hour. 
The contest for this piece of ground was terrific." Other reports corroborated 
these statements in full. Many of the officers and men, among them Captain 
Peck, left their hospital beds to join the fight. 

Colonel Roberts died on the 7th, two days after the battle. The following 
appeared in the New Orleans Delta, and it is but just to his memory that it 
should be copied here : " . . The Seventh Vermont Regiment, which had 
just returned from severe service at Vicksburg, participated in the battle of 
Baton Rouge. It is sufficient evidence that they were at their post discharg- 
ing faithfully the trust reposed in them, that their gallant colonel, George T. 
Roberts, fell mortally wounded in the thickest of the fight. He was a true 
patriot and an honorable, high-minded man. He first went into the service as 
a lieutenant in Company A, of the First Vermont Volunteers. When the Sev- 
enth was called for he was tendered the colonelcy, and in every particular has 
proved the selection a good one, and, though dying in a glorious caus^, his loss 
will be severely felt, both by his regiment and his many friends in his native 
State, where he was so well and widely known." Colonel Roberts's remains 
were brought to Rutland where his obsequies were very largely attended. 

On the 20th of August Baton Rouge was evacuated and the Seventh Reg- 
iment returned to Carrollton, going into camp there with other troops. This 
was another most unhealthy locality, and soon acquired the name of the 
"camp of death." On the 26th Lieutenant-Colonel Fullam resigned and Will- 
iam C. Holbrook was made colonel. Captains Peck and Porter were promot- 
ed, the former to lieutenant-colonel and the latter to major of the regiment. 
Captain E. A. Morse, the efficient quartermaster, also resigned to accept pro- 
motion. On the 8th of September Surgeon Francis W. Kelley resigned, and 
Assistant Surgeon, Enoch Blanchard was promoted to the office. 

When the Seventh reached Carrollton, it was reported that statements de- 
rogatory to the conduct of the regiment at Baton Rouge had emanated from 
some of the Indiana officers. Upon the strength of such reports as reached 
General Butler, he revised his official reports as far as they referred to the con- 
duct of the Seventh and issued his childish and unjust " Order 62," in which he 
condemned the regiment for its alleged conduct at Baton Rouge. It must 




^.^^^i^^ 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 99 

suffice for us to merely state that history will accept Colonel Dudley's report, 
written by an officer who smv what he wrote about, as against General Butler's 
tirade, based upon prejudiced reports of others. A long and bitter contro- 
versy followed, ending in a court of inquiry, the findings of which were such 
as to entirely exonerate the regiment from all blame and sustain its honor and 
bravery in every particular. General Butler thereupon, perforce, issued his 
" Order 98," in which he retracted his charges and insinuations. 

We have alluded to the unhealthiness of the camp at Carrollton. Sickness 
followed until the regiment was practically unfit for duty ; but the men were 
forced to remain there until September 30, when they were moved to Camp 
Kearney, a short distance below Carrollton, a slightly more wholesome place. 
On the 4th of November another move was made to New Orleans. A few 
days later orders were received to start for Pensacola, Fla., and on the 13th 
of November the regiment embarked for that point. The destination was 
reached the following day, after a most uncomfortable trip. Here the climate 
and salubrious air soon improved the condition of the men. In Colonel Hol- 
brook's history of the regiment is given the following tabular statement of deaths 
in the regiment from 1862 to 1866, inclusive, showing how great a mortality 
from sickness was reached in the first year, as compared with the casualties of 
subsequent years : — 

1862. 1S63. 1S64. 1S65. 1S66. Total. 



Commissioned Officers 

Non-Commissioned Officer 

Company A 

Company B 

Company C 

Company D 

Company E 

Company K 

Company G 

Company H 

Company I 

Company K 











7 
2 


26 


1 




3 


I 7,2, 


32 


2 




2 


45 


14 


5 




4 


23 


20 






3 


27 


:.b 


I 




7 


4S 


24 






3 


3° 


31 






3 


45 


44 


5 




4 


57 


37 


3 




4 


47 


26 


J 


6 


S 


43 



Total 295 31 39 41 I 407 

The period of about a month was passed by the regiment in building a 
stockade in anticipation of an attack predicted by the redoubtable General Neal 
Dow, then in command at that point. The attack was not made, and on the 
29th of December the regiment, with other troops, engaged, in an armed recon- 
naissance to Oakfield ; no enemy was encountered. 

Early in January Lieutenant Henry French died of fever contracted in the 
fatal Vicksburg campaign, and his remains were sent home. 

Scouting parties were the order of the service until spring. On the 17th 
of February Companies B and G, under Captain Dutton, started on one of 
these expeditions. Near Oakfield they were attacked by the enemy's cavalry; 
a skirmish, which degenerated into a running fight, ensued, until Oakfield was 
reached, when the enemy retired. About this time orders were received to 
evacuate Pensacola, and on the 20th of February the regiment proceeded to 



History of Rutland County. 



Fort Pickens, on Santa Rosa Island. On the 28th of March Companies A, D 
and G were detailed for duty as artillerists in this fort, which had previously 
been garrisoned by United States Regulars. Nothing of importance occurred 
to the command while on this island, and on the 19th of June, when Colonel 
Holbrook was placed in command of the troops of Western Florida, the regi- 
ment, excepting the companies last named, was removed by him to Barrancas, 
where a pleasant camp was formed and named " Camp Roberts" in honor of 
the dead colonel of the regiment. Little active service was seen by the regi- 
ment during the summer and autumn. On the 6th of September Colonel Hol- 
brook sent out a reconnoitering party under Captain Mahlon M. Young and 
Lieutenant Jackson V. Parker ; they captured a party of rebels at the head- 
quarters of the Spanish consul, Morino, who was in sympathy with the South. 
An attempt was made and repeated to secure the release of these prisoners, 
from both Captain Young and later from Colonel Holbrook, but the efiforts 
failed ; it was claimed that they entered the town under a flag of truce and that 
they were under the protection of the Spanish consulate. 

On the loth of September an accident of a serious nature occurred at the 
fort. The picket line had been repeatedly fired upon in front of the fort, and 
the gunners were in training to get the range of the woods whence the firing 
came, when an eight-inch howitzer exploded while being served by a detach- 
ment of Company I ; the discharge was caused by the carelessness of the cor- 
poral whose duty it was to thumb the vent of the gun. Private Robert Ripley, 
of Company I, had his right arm blown off and sustained other injuries which 
caused his death within a few days, and Private James B. Royce was blown 
into the air and picked up for dead ; to every one's surprise, however, he sur- 
vived, with a badly shattered left arm, which was subsequently amputated. 
He was also badly burned and bruised. 

During the month of September yellow fever was developed in that region 
and on the 5th of November Corporal Lucius O. Wilkins, of Company B, died 
of the disease, and on the 17th Lieutenant Rollin M. Green, one of the best 
officers in the regiment, was stricken down from the same cause. 

On the 7th of November Colonel Holbrook was relieved by Brigadier- 
General A. Asboth, and assigned to the command of the First Brigade, then 
consisting of the Seventh Vermont (less the detached companies) under Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Peck, and two colored regiments. From this time until spring 
nothing of especial moment, outside of several successful scouting expeditions, 
occurred in the regiment. 

On the 13th of February, 1864, Lieutenant Frank N. Finney, of Company 
D, returned from Vermont with one hundred and ten recruits for the regiment. 
During the same month all of the enlisted men of the regiment remaining from 
those originally mustered in, except fifty-eight, re-enlisted for three years fur- 
ther service, or for the war, the War Department having previously decided that 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 



the original term of service would expire June i, 1864. By the provisions of 
this order the re-enlisted men were entitled to a thirty days' furlough. The 
embarkation for this furlough was made August 10. 

During the spring and early summer there were some changes of minor im- 
portance in the duties of the regiment, and while the rebels were busily strength- 
ening position, Farragut was preparing for an attack on Forts Morgan and Gaines 
at the entrance of Mobile Bay. The rebel reinforcements and supplies passed 
over the railroad running from Pollard and beyond to Mobile. General Asboth 
conceived a scheme for the destruction of this then important line. An expe- 
dition was fitted out consisting of four companies. A, B, E and H, of the Sev- 
enth Vermont, Schmidt's New York Cavalry, the First Florida Cavalry, the 
Eighty-third and Eighty- sixth United States Colored Regiments and two 
mountain howitzers, the latter under command of Adjutant Sheldon. Barran- 
cas was left by the expedition July 21. The enemy was encountered at Gon- 
zales Station in a rude square redoubt, and were gallantly assaulted by A and 
E companies under Captains Moseley and Smalley. The charge was so gal- 
lantly conducted that the rebels fled from their works. Colonel Holbrook says: 
" Although this affair can hardly be called a battle, yet for over an hour the 
Seventh was exposed to a severe musketry fire. No troops could have be- 
haved better than they did." Owing to the fact, which was learned from a 
deserter, that Colonel Maury was marching towards General Asboth's force 
with four thousand men, it was decided to retreat, and Barrancas was safely 
reached on the 24th. 

The Seventh Regiment reached their homes after a long and tedious voyage 
on the 26th of August, and were handsomely received by Governor Smith and 
the citizens of Brattleboro. On the 13th of September Lieutenant John Q. 
Dickinson, who had for some time acted as quartermaster of the regiment, re- 
ceived his commission as such. He was subsequently made captain of Com- 
pany F, and was honorably discharged for disability October 10, 1865. He 
remained in the South after the close of the war, and having taken some part 
in political affairs in Florida, was warned by the Ku Klux to leave the State. 
He paid no attention to the threats made in case he disobeyed the warning, 
and was shot by cowardly assassins who were hidden in darkness. His remains 
were returned to his northern home. 

On the 30th of September the regiment again turned its face southward, 
reaching New Orleans on the 13th of October, 1864. During the absence of 
the regiment at home. Captain Mahlon Young was killed while leading a charge 
against the enemy in the streets of Marianna. Colonel Holbrook says of him: 
" Captain Young was a fine specimen of the volunteer soldier. Always cool 
and collected, his advice was invariably sound and valuable. He was cour- 
ageous as a lion and ever ready to go wherever he felt that his duty called 



I02 History of Rutland County. 

While stationed at Annunciation Square, New Orleans, the Seventh Regi- 
ment was principally employed in guard duty. On the 19th of February the 
Regiment was ordered to Mobile Point, to take part in the operations against 
that city. The regiment was assigned to Brigadier-General Benton's division 
of the Thirteenth Corps, and on the 17th of March began a march to flank the 
defenses of Mobile on the western shore and operate against those on the east- 
ern shore. This march, which was one of almost unparalleled difficulties in 
the way of mud, rain, and exposure, continued until the 23d, when the regi- 
ment went into camp on the north fork of Fish River. On the 25th another 
forward movement was made which continued through the 26th, involving con- 
siderable skirmishing with the enemy. On the 27th preparations were made 
to attack the " Spanish Fort." Benton's division, embracing the Seventh, 
moved forward in the morning, each regiment in line of battle, directly towards 
the fort, wath other corps on the right and left. The brigade to which the 
Seventh was attached was not halted until within six hundred yards of the 
rebel earthworks, and midway between the old Spanish Fort and Red Fort, 
the guns of which commanded the position through a long ravine. Here the 
regiment lay all day long, exposed to a heavy fire of musketry and artillery. 
The men lay on the ground most of the time. Soon after the first halt in the 
morning Captain Salmon Button was ordered with his company (G) to relieve 
a portion of the skirmish line. He remained out till after nightfall, several of 
his men being wounded, when he was relieved by Captain George E. Croft, 
with Company D. They were in turn relieved by Companies I and H, both 
of which were exposed to heavy firing during the day. During the 28th the 
regiment was exposed to heavy shelling at a point a little in rear, where it had 
camped after being relieved by the Ninety-first Illinois. On the evening of 
the 28th Companies F (Captain Edgar M. BuUard), and C (Captain Henry 
Stoweli) were ordered on the skirmish line, with instructions to advance as far 
as possible, entrenching as they proceeded. This duty was thoroughly per- 
formed. From this time to April 12 the siege of the fort progressed with the 
utmost vigor and determination, and every day the Seventh Regiment was en- 
gaged in dangerous picket duty, labor in the trenches or repelling sorties by 
the enemy. We cannot here enter into the details of all of these operations, 
which are graphical!)' desbribed in Colonel Holbrook's history of the regiment. 
The chief occurrence in the Seventh was the capture of Captain Stearns with 
twenty men on the skirmish line on the night of the 31st, where he had with 
great bravery maintained a most dangerous position. Captain Stearns was 
paroled and sent to the parole camp, Vicksburg. After thirteen days of act- 
ive operations the fort was abandoned and the works occupied by the Union 
forces on the 8th of April. 

I'^arly on the morning of tiie 9th the regiment was ordered to Blakely, 
which had been, since April 2, besieged by General Steele and his force from 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 103 

Pensacola. As the regiment drew near Steele's line, heavy firing was heard. 
The Seventh did not share in the subsequent assault by which the rebel works 
were carried. On the morning of the I Ith, the division containing the Seventh 
marched back towards Spanish Fort to Stark's Landing, where they embarked 
on transports. During this march news of the fall of Richmond reached the 
troops. On the 12th they proceeded to Mobile City where arrangements had 
already been made to turn the place over to the Union forces. The following 
morning Benton's division was ordered in pursuit of the fleeing enemy; they 
marched through the city and to a station on the Mobile and Ohio railroad 
called Whistler, where the shops of the road were located. The Seventh was 
in the advance with the Fiftieth Indiana. Colonel Day, just before reaching 
the station, turned to the left, leaving the Seventh and Fiftieth to proceed along 
the track. Firing was soon heard in the direction taken by him, and he sent back 
for support. The Seventh and the Indiana regiments were hurried forward at 
a double quick and they were soon under a heavy fire, but somewhat protected 
by woods. The rebels were on a slight eminence beyond a marsh over which 
was a bridge ; this bridge had been fired and the Ninety-first Illinois in at- 
tempting to get through the marsh was fairly stalled. Colonel Holbrook at- 
tempted, but unsuccessfully, to form the Indiana regiment, and then formed 
the Seventh, which rushed ahead under a heavy fire and was soon at the bridge. 
Here they were changed into column and hurried across the burning bridge. 
Across the bridge line of battle was again formed and firing begun ; but the 
enemy soon retreated precipitately. 

The regiment remained at Whistler till the 19th when the division was 
marched to a place on the Tombigbee River, about forty miles from Mobile, and 
went into camp. Here came the news of the assassination of the president. 
Although Lee surrendered on the 9th and Johnston on the 27th, operations in 
the southwest still continued. General Taylor with his force of rebels was in 
the immediate front of the division, and to him notice was sent that the exist- 
ing truce must end, as the United States government did not approve of the 
Sherman-Johnston armistice. On the morning of May 2 Colonel Holbrook, 
with the Seventh and Fiftieth Indiana, was ordered out on a scout ; but nego- 
tiations for Taylor's surrender were renewed and no action followed ; the two 
regiments returned, and the next day the division proceeded to Mobile. 

Colonel Holbrook resigned on the 2d of June, 1865, and from that time 
until the regiment returned north it was in service in Texas. The command, 
under Lieutenent-Colonel Peck, sailed for Brazos where they arrived June 5 
and went into camp, remaining until the 14th, when they proceeded to the 
mouth of the Rio Grande and went into camp. On the 14th of July the one 
year recruits were mustered out. August 2 the regiment broke camp and 
marched to Brownsville, about thirty miles up the river, and remained there in 
camp until mustered out in March, 1866. On the 26th of August Colonel 



I04 History of Rutland County. 

Peck resigned and Lieutenant-Colonel Porter was commissioned colonel, Ma- 
jor Bullard, lieutenant-colonel, and Captain Smalley, major. Subsequently 
Major Smalley resigned and Captain George E. Croft was commissioned major. 

On the 14th of March the regiment was mustered out at Brownsville, but 
proceeded in a body to New Orleans and thence to Brattleboro, Vt, where it 
disbanded. A grand and merited reception was given the veterans at Brattle- 
boro. The regiment was the last volunteer organization of Vermont to be dis- 
banded. No more gallant regiment than the Seventh was ever sent out by 
the State. 

The Tenth Regiinoit. — This regiment was recruited in the summer of 
1862, simultaneously with the Eleventh. A little over one hundred and fifty 
of its members were from Rutland county, distributed as follows : Brandon 
Co. C, 6. Chittenden, Co. C, 3 ; Co. H, i. Clarendon, Co. C, 4 ; Co. F, 4, and 
one not recorded with company. Danby, Co. C, 3 ; Co. H, 3. Mendon, Co. C, 
2. Middletown, Co. C, 24. Mount Holly, Co. H, 3 ; Co. D, 2 ; Co. C, 2. 
Mount Tabor, Co. C, 3. Pawlet, Co. C, i. Pittsfield, Co. C, 6 ; Co. F, i. Pitts- 
ford, Co. C, 14; Co. E, I. Rutland, Co. C, 14; Co. D, i ; Co. F, i, and two 
officers and four not recorded with companies. Shrewsbury, Co. C, 3. Tin- 
mouth, Co. C, 8. Wallingford, Co. C, 14, two officers; Wells, Co. K, i. 

Of the field and staff" officers from this county John A. Salsbury, of Tin- 
mouth, went out as first lieutenant of Company C, commission dating August 
5, 1862; captain Company I, November 7, 1862 ; brevet major, October 19, 
1864, for gallantry before Richmond and in the Shenandoah Valley ; mustered 
out of service as captain of Company I, June 22, 1864 ; promoted major Jan- 
uary 2, 1865. 

John A. Sheldon, credited to the town of Castleton, went out as captain 
of Company C, which, as above seen, was recruited in this county, and was 
promoted captain and commissary of subsistence June 28, 1864. 

Captains. — John A. Hicks, jr., of Rutland, was made sergeant-major Sep- 
tember I, 1862; second lieutenant Company B, December 27, 1862 ; first lieu- 
tenant Company B, June 6, 1864; honorably discharged May 2, 1865, for dis- 
ability. 

Henry W. Kingsley, Rutland, regimental quartermaster ; sergeant, Sep- 
tember I, 1862 ; second lieutenant Company F, December 27, 1862; wounded 
severely November 27, 1863; first lieutenant Company F, June 6, 1864; 
appointed captain and commissary of subsistence January 23, 1865. 

First Lieutenants — Daniel G. Hill, Wallingford, regimental commissary- 
sergeant September i, 1862; second lieutenant Company H. January 19, 
1863 ; died of wounds received at Opequan, Va., September 19, 1864. 

Second Lieutenants — William H. H. Sabin, Wallingford, promoted first 
lieutenant Company C, November 8, 1862. 

Henry H. Adams, Wallingford, private Company C, July 16, 1862; cor- 




^^^^«^<g^ 



fc^c^ 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 105 

poral, September i, 1862 ; sergeant August 6, 1863 ; regimental quartermas- 
ter-sergeant, July I, 1864; mustered out of service as quartermaster-sergeant 
June 22, 1865 ; commissioned second lieutenant, February 9, 1865. 

The companies other than Company C were distributed through the State 
as follows: A, Saint Johnsbury ; B, Waterbury ; D, Burlington ; F, Swanton ; 
G, Bradford; H, Ludlow; I, Saint Albans; K, Derby Line. 

The field and staff officers were as follows : Colonel, A. B. Jewett ; lieu- 
tenant-colonel, John H. Edson ; major, W. W. Henry ; adjutant, Wyllys Ly- 
man ; quartermaster, A. B. Valentine ; surgeon, Willard A. Childe ; assistant 
surgeons, J. C. Rutherford, Almon Clark ; chaplain, E. M. Haynes. 

The regiment went into camp at Brattleboro on the 15th of August, and 
was mustered into the service on the 1st day of September, with one thou- 
sand and sixteen men. It left the State on the 6th and preceded via New 
York, Philadelphia and Baltimore to Washington, arriving on the 8th and the 
next morning went into Camp Chase on Arlington Heights. Soon after the 
second battle of Bull Run the regiment started on a march of forty miles up 
the Potomac, to guard the Maryland shore of the stream. Taking positions in 
that vicinity, the regiment remained from the 17th of September to the middle 
of October. Here the duties of camp life were earnestly begun- and well 
learned by the men. 

While encamped in October at Seneca Creek the regiment passed through 
a period of sickness that became almost an epidemic. While here the regi- 
ment was brigaded with the Thirty-ninth Massachusetts, the Twenty-third 
Maine and Fourteenth New Hampshire Regiments and placed under command 
of Brigadier-General Grover. On the 13th of November he was displaced by 
Colonel Davis of the Thirty-ninth Massachusetts, and the brigade took position 
at Offut's Crossing, fifteen miles from Washington, where it remained until 
December 21 without important incident. Many deaths occurred here from 
the same apparent causes of the previous mortality ; twenty-five men died in 
five weeks. On the 21st of December the brigade was marched to Pooleville. 
thirty miles from Washington, and there, divided into three sections, the regi- 
ment remained through the remainder of the winter. Here Colonel Jewett 
succeeded to the command of tlie brigade. 

On the 24th of June, 1863, the regiment started, according to General 
Hooker's orders, for Harper's Ferry, which place was reached on the 26th, and 
the command went into camp on Maryland Heights. June 30 this position 
was evacuated and the regiment marched to Frederick, Md., where it was brig- 
aded with the Sixth New York Heavy Artillery, One Hundred and First New 
York Infantry and Fourteenth New Jersey. On the 8th the regiment was 
made a part of the Third Division, Third Corps. During the battle of Gett}-s- 
burg the regiment lay at Monocacy Bridge (July ist-3d), and on the 9th 
joined the Army of the Potomac. Trying marches of several days brought 



io6 History ok Rutland County. 

the regiment to Sharpsburg, the last day's tramp being in a burning sun which 
left scarcely a battalion in the brigade when it came to a halt. More severe 
marches followed, and the 26th of July found the regiment at Warrenton and 
a halt of five days was made near the town. Beginning with August i, the 
regiment lay for five weeks near the famous Sulphur Springs of Virginia, with 
light duty to perform, On the Jlh of September the Third Corps was re- 
viewed by General Meade. None of the brigade regiments had yet fought a 
battle, although they had been a year in the field. September 13 the brigade 
crossed the Rapidan, but Meade's contemplated battle was postponed and the 
command was again idle twenty-three days. 

The active movements, though not of great importance, which occurred 
from this time to the 19th of October, need not be detailed here ; on that date, 
while Lee had begun his retreat along the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, 
the brigade was in pursuit. The railroad was destroyed for thirty miles; 
but the Tenth aided in its energetic reconstruction, and on the 19th it was 
done and the rebel army was faced by the Union forces on the Rappahannock. 
The enemy was again driven, the Tenth doing duty in support of artillery ; 
after dark the corps crossed the Rappahannock and the next morning advanced 
up the river, continuing the next day to Culpepper. From the 14th of No- 
vember for one week the regiment remained here. 

On the 26th the whole army was again on the move, and the Tenth Regi- 
ment crossed the Rapidan. The next day was fought the engagement at 
Orange Grove. In this battle the Tenth bore a conspicuous part ; it was, 
moreover, its first real engagement, which renders its conduct still more admi- 
rable. A brilliant charge to dislodge the enemy posted behind a fence was 
made b\' the Tenth, which was especially complimented in subsequent orders. 
Colonel Jewett, Major Charles G. Chandler and Captain Samuel Darrah were 
personally mentioned for bravery. 

On the following night the army was headed toward the Rapidan and the 
Tenth Regiment was placed on picket far towards the front. Here they lay 
until two o'clock of the morning of December 2, when they cautiously crept 
away, to escape the shots of the rebel sharpshooters who were near at hand. 
On the same day a march of twent}-- three miles was made to Brandy Station. 
Here the regiment lay through the winter without especial incident. About 
the middle of March the Third Corps was broken up and the Tenth Regiment 
became a part of the First Brigade, Third Division in the Sixth Corps. Most 
of the members were satisfied with the change, as it would associate them, 
although in another division, with the famous "Vermont Brigade." The other 
regiments of the new brigade were the Eighty-seventh Pennsylvania^ the One 
Hundred and Sixth New York, the One Hundred and First New York, and 
the Fourteenth New Jersey. 

On the 25th of April Colonel Jewett resigned, much to the regret of the 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 107 

Tegiment, and a few days later, on the 4th of May, began the movement which 
■opened the great battles of the Wilderness. From this date until the i8th, 
through the Wilderness fight and at Spottsylvania, the regiment was under 
fire every day, and yet its losses, from surrounding circumstances, were com- 
paratively small. On the second day of the battle the First Brigade was held 
in reserve; one officer and si.\ men were killed in the brigade and tvvent}--one 
taken prisoners, and not a gun fired by them. This is one of the severest tests 
of the soldier's courage. During the three days' fighting the regiment lost but 
three killed and nine wounded ; but its services were none the less important. 

In the first three days at Spottsylvania the position of the Third Division 
was on the right of the corps, -on a crest, from which their line extended into a 
valley ; and although constantly under fire, the losses were not heav\'. On 
the iith the Tenth Regiment was placed on the skirmish line. On the 1 2th 
the corps was moved to the left to support General Hancock in his famous 
assault, but was held in reserve, and the losses were not heavy — twenty- three 
killed and one hundred and thirty-three wounded during the entire action. 
On the morning of the 13th the Third Division took its old position on the 
right, and on the following day the corps was moved around to the extreme 
left of the army A charge was made by the First Brigade at dusk on the 4th, 
the men wading the N\' River to their arm- pits and gallantly carrying the 
crest of a hill which had been stubbornly held by the rebels against a brigade 
of the First Division. From that time until the 21st the brigade was not 
brought into serious collision with the enemy ; and then while withdrawing 
from the works to cross the North Anna, the First and Second Divisions were 
struck on the flank and a number of prisoners captured ; the rebels were 
quickly driven into retreat. 

From the 21st to the 25th the brigade was marched southward and reached 
the Virginia Central Railroad, which they destroyed, and the Tenth Regiment 
went on picket at night. During the ten days in which this corps confronted 
the rebels at this point it was not engaged, except in slight skirmishes. 

At Cold Harbor on the 1st and 3d of June the Tenth Regiment and its 
associates were actively engaged and suffered severely. In the engagement 
the First Brigade was on the left of the division. The advance was made 
through a belt of pine woods where the enemy had erected slight works. Ser- 
geant, afterwards Captain, S. H. Lewis, of the Tenth, sprang over these works 
and single-handed captured a major, lieutenant and several men ; and later the 
regiment captured the Fifty-first North Carolina Regiment. The 3d of June, 
in the general assault on the rebel line, the Tenth suffered severely, and on the 
6th Captain Samuel Darrah was killed by a sharpshooter. In these engage- 
ments the Tenth lost twenty-seven killed and one hundred and forty-six 
wounded. Lieutenant-Colonel Henry was wounded on the 1st and the com- 
mand of the regiment devolved upon Major Charles G. Chandler. Lieutenants 



io8 History of Rutland County. 

Ezra Stetson and Charles G. Newton were killed on the 1st, and on the 3d 
Captain Edwin B. Frost was killed. 

The Tenth had now acquired the experience of veterans and had uniformly- 
acquitted itself with honor, as shown by the published reports. At sundown 
on the 13th the regiment crossed the Chickahominy and on the 15th embarked 
on transports for City Point ; without disembarking there they proceeded to^ 
Bermuda Hundreds, arriving on the i6th. Here a position was occupied in 
rear of Butler's fortified line. On the 19th of June the regiment crossed the 
Appomattox and moved around to the rear of Petersburg. On the 22d and 
23d they took part in the well-known raid on the Weldon Railroad, but with- 
out loss, and on the 6th of July the Third Division was detached from the 
Sixth Corps of the Army of the Potomac and ordered to Harper's Ferry, to 
meet the rebel advance into Maryland. The division went via City Point and 
Baltimore and at eight o'clock of the 9th was at Monocacy Junction, where it 
shared in the battle that ensued. In this engagement, the details of which are 
too lengthy for these pages, the Tenth was actively engaged and lost four 
killed and twenty-six wounded. The night of the 9th the regiment marched 
to New Market, where it joined the division, and the next day was sent to the 
Relay House, and on the nth to Baltimore. 

On the 14th of July the regiment took the railroad for Washington and the 
next day marched on through Georgetown, crossed the Potomac on the i6th 
and camped on the Leesburg pike. On the evening of the 17th the regiment 
joined the remainder of the Sixth Corps and the next day marched through 
Snicker's Gap and reached the Shenandoah River. The 20th, the rebels on 
the opposite side of the river having disappeared, the regiment crossed and the 
same night reforded the stream and started for Washington and thence to 
Harper's I'erry. Another severe march brought the regiment to Frederick, 
where it remained to the 5th of August, when it moved to Monocacy Junction, 
where the Shenandoah Valley campaign was inaugurated. 

The movements in which the Tenth took part in the valley, up to the battle 
of Winchester, cannot be followed in detail ; they are matters of general his- 
tory. The battle of Winchester was fought September 19. Orders reached 
this brigade on the i8th to be ready to march at a moment's notice, and early 
on the following morning the troops were on the move. In the engagement 
the Third Division was in the front line of battle and in the onset were thrown 
into confusion and became mingled with the second, with which they then 
moved forward. The battle waged hot and at one time seemed lost, but Gen- 
eral Russell, with the First Division and Upton's Brigade, came up and 
charged the enemy on the flank, driving them back. General Russell was 
killed. At three o'clock the enemy had taken a new position near Winchester, 
where they were vigorously attacked by Crook's command, with Merritt's and 
Averill's divisions of cavalry on the flank, and the main army in front, with 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 109 

Sheridan cheering them on. A simultaneous charge was made in front, flank 
and rear, and the enemy broke and fled through the town in hopeless rout. 
Among the killed in the Tenth was Major Edwin Dillingham, a brave officer. 
Lieutenant Hill was wounded and died a few weeks later in hospital. Lieu- 
tenant Abbott was severely wounded and Captain Davis slightly. After the 
fall of Major Dillingham the command of the regiment was turned over to 
Captain (afterward Major) Hunt. 

The engagement at Fisher's Hill followed closely on (September 21, 22). 
Here the enemy was posted on the crest of the hill behind fortifications. On 
the evening of the 20th the Sixth Corps filed into the woods north of Stras- 
burgh and lay there over night. The 21st was spent in reconnoitering for po- 
sition. The next day the Third Division formed the extreme right of the 
army. Sheridan's line covered a mile and a half in length, but not continu- 
ous, and thus the opposing armies confronted each other on the morning of 
the 22d. General Crook was sent on a flank movement similar to that at Win- 
chester, to cover which the Third Division was swung out from the right, 
cleared away the rebel skirmishers and formed a line threatening their flank. 
The following narration of the actual incidents of the engagement is from 
Chaplain Hayne's history of the regiment : — 

" Say now it is four o'clock. Crook has toiled with his command westward 
up the steep side of the Blue Ridge, and then moved south far enough to gain 
the rear of the rebel works; then facing east, crawled stealthily yet rapidly to 
his assigned position. He is now in the edge of the timber, his whole column 
lapping the enemy's flank, ready to rush upon his rear. An instant more, 
wholly unexpected, he dashes out and leaps forward. At the same time 
Ricketts's Division, seconding Crook's command from the position taken in the 
morning, and, in anticipation of this very thing, sprang forward, quickly trav- 
ersed the field before them, mounted the rebel works in front and cleared them 
instantly. The work here was done. The rebels, those who did not at once 
yield themselves as prisoners, fled terrified, leaving everything that might en- 
cumber their flight. In the mean time the troops on our left were nobly car- 
rying out their part of the programme. Under a heavier storm of deadly 
missiles — and they were under it, for it was quite impossible that the rebels 
should keep up a perfect range on this uneven ground — they rapidly closed in 
and helped to complete the victory. For the enemy it was a terrible rout. 
We captured sixteen pieces of artillery, sixteen stand of colors, and 
eleven hundred prisoners. Our division claimed to have captured four hun- 
dred prisoners and six pieces of artillery. The Tenth Regiment lost only five 
wounded and less than that number killed. Captain John A. Hicks, acting on 
the First Brigade staff from this regiment, was severely wounded." 

After the succeeding operations in the valley, principally by the cavalry 
arm, the Sixth Corps started on the march for Washington on the loth of Oc- 



History of Rutland County. 



tober. While about crossing the Shenandoah River on the 13th, it was or- 
dered baciv to Middleton into position on the right of the army, left by it some 
days before. The battle of Cedar Creek followed on the 19th of October. The 
Tenth Regiment went into this engagement with seventeen officers and twa 
hundred and sixty men. Soon after daylight the regiment with the Sixth 
Corps was formed in line of battle at right angles to tlieir original position. 
The enemy had broken the left and the fugitives were constantly passing the 
line. About 7:30 the enemy opened heavy firing of artillery and musketry 
from a commanding crest in front of the line and the latter fell back to a low 
ridge four hundred yards in the rear. The rebels then advanced to seize three 
pieces of artillery which had been left. Seeing this, a charge was ordered and 
the Tenth rushed up to the guns and recovered them. Sergeant William Ma- 
honey, Company E, was the first to reach the guns. The enemy rallied and 
poured in a heavy musketry fire from front and right, and as the troops fell 
back the division was soon exposed to a fire from that flank also. The losses 
here were very severe, and the line fell back to the second ridge, where a stand 
was made and the enemy was again repulsed from the crest in front ; but our 
line was again flanked and forced to fall back a mile. Reaching a cross-road, 
the line was re-formed ; the rebels came on and again the line was withdrawn. 
After the arrival of General Sheridan the regiment, with the division, moved 
forward through woods to an open field, halted a few moments and then again 
pushed on, until the rebels reached and stood in a strong position on a contin- 
uous ridge, along the crest of which was a stone wall. Here the fire was con- 
stant and heavy for half an hour, when a general charge was ordered and the 
enemy was driven and routed. The Tenth Regiment passed over the battle- 
ground of the morning and after dark occupied their old camp. The casual- 
ities in the regiment were fourteen killed and sixty-si.K wounded. Among the 
killed was Captain Lucian D. Thompson, of Company D, and the brave Color- 
Sergeant Mahoney, who fell in the final charge. Among the wounded were 
Adjutant Wyllys Lyman, First Lieutenant George E. Davis, Company D, and 
Second Lieutenant James M. Read, of the .same ; Second Lieutenant B. Brooks 
Clark, Company E, who subsequently died of his wounds ; Captain Chester 
F. Nye, Company F ; First Lieutenant William White, and Second Lieuten- 
ant Charles W. Wheeler, Company I ; First Lieutenant George P. Welch, and 
Second Lieutenant Austin W. Fuller, Company K. 

From the 19th of October, 1864, to November 9 the regiment was en- 
camped near Cedar Creek, and then marched to Camp Russell, near Kearns- 
town. On the lOth a part of the regiment, being on picket, were attacked, 
but repulsed the enemy after a sharp skirmish. The regiment remained in 
camp to the 3d of December, when the)- proceeded by wdv of Washington to 
City Point, and went into camp near Warren Station on the 5tb. In this im- 
mediate vicinit)' the regiment lay, with<nit important action, until the 25th of 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 



March, when the grand closing operations of the army began. On the date 
mentioned about one hundred and sixty of the Fourteenth New Jersey and 
two hundred and thirty of the Tenth Regiment, the latter on the left, were 
placed on a picket line in front of Forts Fisher and Welch, for the purpose of 
attacking the enemy's pickets ; the latter were strongly entrenched. A sup- 
porting column was placed in rear. At three o'clock p. m. the whole line 
moved forward at double quick ; the position of the enemy was reached at 
several points, but the fire was too severe to withstand and the line retired. 
The attacking force was strengthened, another advance made and nearly the 
whole picket force captured and the entrenchments held. The casualties in 
the Tenth were two killed and four wounded. 

On the 2d of April the Tenth Regiment participated in the assault of the 
field works in front of Fort Welch, in which the fortifications bearing that 
name were captured, the Tenth, with the brigade, making a rapid advance, 
through abattis and over rough ground, capturing line after line of strong 
earth-works, and many prisoners It was a day of trying service and the col- 
ors first inside of the captured works were those of the Tenth. The casualties 
were three killed and forty-one wounded. Among the latter was Adjutant 
James M. Read, who died four days later, a great loss to the command. Lieu- 
tenant James S. Thompson, Company H, was also wounded. Major Wyllys 
Lyman received especial mention by the commanding officer as having been 
the first to enter the rebel works with the color-bearer. 

Prom Petersburg the regiment marched with the Sixth Corps to Sailor's 
Creek where it was engaged on the 6th of April, taking active part in the c!e- 
cisive flank movement which closed the action. The regiment then marched 
to Appomattox Court-House where the rebel army surrendered on the 9th ■ 
thence they returned to Burkesvilie Station and thence to Danville, Va., where 
they remained three weeks. At the end of this period the regiment moved to 
Washington via Richmond and remained in camp near Ball's Cross- Roads until 
mustered out. The original members of the regiment and the recruits whose 
terms of service would expire previous to October i, 1865, were mustered out 
June 22; their number was 451 men and thirteen officers. They left Wash- 
ington and arrived at Burlington June 27 and were paid off and discharged July 
3d. The remaining members, fourteen officers and 136 men, were transferred 
to the Fifth Regiment and were mustered out June 29, 1865. The Tenth 
Regiment, although its losses in the field were not so heavy as those of some 
other Vermont organizations, served the country in the most creditable and 
honorable manner, and its officers and men still living deserve the gratitude of 
the State ; the dead have secured a merited place of honor in history. 

The Ninth Regiment. — This organization was mustered into the service 
on the 9th of July, 1862, for three years. Company B was entirely recruited 
in Rutland county, with scattering enlistments from the county in other com- 



112 History of Rutland County. 

panics to the number of about one hundred and seventy, distributed among 
the various towns as follows : Brandon, Co. B, 5 ; Co. C, 4. Benson, Co. C, 
I ; Co. B, I. Castieton, Co. B, 2; Co. D, i. Chittenden, Co. B, 4; Co. D, 
I ; Co. H, 3. Clarendon, Co. B, 7. Danby, Co. B, 4 ; Co. C, i. Fairhaven, 
Co. B, I. Hubbardton, Co. C, i. Ira, Co. B, 3 ; Co. F, 2. Mendon, Co. B, 
7. Middletown, Co. B, i. Mount Holly, Co. B, 13 ; Co. D, 5 ; Co. G, i. Mount 
Tabor, Co. B. i. Pawlet, Co, B, 3 ; Co. H, i. Pittsfield, Co. C, 2. Pittsford, 
Co. B, 4. Poultney, Co. B, 6; Co. D, 2. Rutland, Co. A, i ; Co. B, 15: 
Co. C, 2 ; Co. D, 2 ; Co. F, 3 ; Co. K, 7. Sherburne, Co. B, i ; Co. D, i. 
Shrewsbury, Co. B, 1 1 : Co. K, 2. Sudbury, Co. B, 4. Tinmouth, Co. B, 7 ; 
Co. C, 3. Wallingford, Co. B, 6. Wells, Co. B, i ; Co. C, i ; Co. E, i ; Co, 
F, I. Westhaven, Co, B, 5 ; Co. D, 3. 

The officers of Company B, recruited in Rutland county, were as follows : 
Captain, Edward H. Ripley ; major, March 20, 1863 ; lieutenant-colonel. May, 
16, 1S63 ; brevet-brigadier-general, August I, 1864; mustered out June, 13, 
1865. 

First lieutenant, Samuel H. Kelley ; promoted, captain Company B, May 

I, 1863. 

Second lieutenant, Alfred C. Ballard; promoted first lieutenant, May i, 
1863. 

The Ninth Regiment rendezvoused at Brattleboro, whence they departed 
for the front on the 15th of July, 1862. Their first camp was in Virginia and 
not far from Fairfax Court- House. There they remained two weeks, when 
they removed to Winchester and remained about six weeks. After the battle of 
Antietam was fought the regiment moved to Bolivar Heights at Harper's Ferry. 
In the fighting which occurred near that point the regiment was in support of 
artillery. It formed a part of the large Union force that was surrendered to 
the Confederates by General Miles on the 15th of September and on the i6th 
proceeded to parole camp at Annapolis, Md. From there the regiment was 
sent to Chicago, arriving on the 28th ; they were camped at what was called 
Camp Tyler until the loth of December, when they moved to Camp Douglas, 
remaining until January 9, 1863, when they were exchanged. From that date 
to April I, the regiment was employed in guarding prisoners; on the latter 
date a large body of prisoners was taken by the regiment to City Point. They 
were then moved to Camp Hamilton at Fortress Monroe, remaining, however, 
but a few days, when they marched to Suffolk and participated in the siege at 
that point ; thence they moved to Bottom's Bridge and then to Yorktown, 
reaching there a little before the 1st of November, 1863. 

The regiment remained stationed at Yorktown until the 24th of October, 
suffering during that period very severely with malarial diseases, which were 
prevalent in that locality. Thus far in its career the regiment had seen little 
of actual battle in the field ; but the unusual sickness which attacked the men 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 



at Yorktown was far more demoralizing than would have been an active cam- 
paign. At one time out of three hundred and fifty men present, but thirty-six 
privates were fit for duty. 

On the 24th of October the regiment sailed for Newbern, arriving on the 
29th, and were ordered into Newport barracks, at the junction of the coast mail 
route with t4ie railroad, where they performed garrison and picket duty with 
ten detached companies of artillery and cavalry. Colonel E. H. Ripley, of the 
Ninth, in command of the post. 

On the 1 2th of November a detachment of one hundred men went on a 
reconnaissance to Cedar Point, N. C, twenty miles distant, returning on the 
1 5th. On the 2d of December the regiment met with a severe loss in the death 
of Major Charles Jarvis, who died of wounds received in a slight skirmish in 
which he was endeavoring to effect the capture of a squad of rebels. He was 
a brave and patriotic officer. He went out as captain of Company D. 

On the 24th of December Colonel Ripley, with a portion of the regiment, 
accompanied by Colonel Jourdan and a portion of the One Hundred and Fifty- 
eighth New York and two gun boats, went on an expedition down the coast, 
which resulted in the destruction of e.xtensive rebel salt works and the bringing 
in of a large body of negroes. 

On the 31st of January the regiment, in company with the troops in the 
sub-district of Beaufort, under Colonel Jourdan, engaged in an expedition to 
Onslow county, N. C, and returned after an arduous march of seventy-five 
miles in the mud, having captured a lieutenant and twenty-seven privates, with 
considerable valuable property. 

On the 2d day of February the enemy made an advance upon Newport 
with about 2,500 infantry, a dozen pieces of artillery and 400 cavalry. The 
outposts, then held by companies H and B, were first attacked, followed by an 
advance upon the barracks. At the time of the first attack the new recruits 
which had joined the regiment were still unarmed, and the Ninth itself num- 
bered less than 200 muskets. Before the attack reached the post arms were 
placed in the hands of the recruits, they were hastily instructed in loading, and 
with their pockets full of cartridges were taken to the skirmish line. A gallant 
resistance to the attack was made and the position held until dark, when the 
regiment was forced to fall back across the bridges and burn them to escape 
capture by the rebels ; the command then retired to Morehead City by way of 
Beaufort. In this affair the regiment lost two lieutenants and sixty-four men 
killed, wounded and missing. The regiment was commanded on this occasion 
by Captain Kelley of Company B, Lieutenant-Colonel Barney being in com- 
mand of the post and Colonel Ripley having just left for Fortress Monroe with 
prisoners and dispatches for General Butler. The regiment was reinforced and 
returned to Newport on the 5th of February. The losses on the 2d were con- 
siderable, Lieutenant Bolton, Company C, being among the wounded, and 



114 History of Rutland County. 

Lieutenant Holman, Company G, missing. The official reports say that the 
Ninth Regiment fought well and did itself great credit. 

On the 1 6th of March Major Amasa Bartlett died. He went out as cap- 
tain of Company E and had but a short time previous received his well-earned 
promotion. 

On the 26th of April Captain Kelley, Company B, with twenty men cap- 
tured a fishing party of six on Bogue Bank, sent out by the rebel commissary 
department ; and on the 29th, with forty men, he made a dash into Swansboro, 
capturing a lieutenant and sixteen men, with horses, arms and other stores. 

On the 20th of June the regiment, in company of other troops, marched 
seventy-five miles into the interior, with the object of cutting the Willmington 
and Weldon railroad. The e.xpedition was absent a week, but returned with- 
out accomplishing its object. 

On the nth of July four companies under Major Brooks were ordered to 
Newbern and assigned to duty on the various outposts, and during the succeed- 
ing ten days the remainder of the regiment followed. 

On the 3 1st of August the regiment was ordered to Bermuda Hundreds and 
they soon entered upon a more active campaign. They arrived on the 15th 
of September and were assigned to the First Brigade, Second Division of the 
Eighteenth Corps. On the 17th the regiment was joined by 170 recruits, 
bringing its efiective strength up to nearly 875. 

On the 29th of September the battle was fought at Chapin's Farm. The 
regiment broke camp at i o'clock a. m. and crossed the James River at Aiken's 
Landing at daybreak. The advance of four miles to Chapin's Farm was made, 
where the brigade (comprising the Eighth Maine and the Ninth Vermont 
regiments) was ordered to charge one of the rebel works at that point. The 
Maine regiment became entangled in a swamp and the Ninth made the charge 
alone, over a half mile of rough brush-covered ground, carried the work and 
captured two guns and about fifty prisoners. The regiment was under fire the 
entire day and every man behaved with the utmost bravery. The casualties 
were seven killed and thirty- eight wounded. 

The Ninth Regiment remained stationed in this vicinity, with some unim- 
portant changes, until the evacuation of Richmond. On the 27th of October 
they participated in the engagement on Williamsburgh road (Fair Oaks), fully 
sustaining the record for bravery already acquired by them. Early in Novem- 
ber the regiment was transferred to New York city, where they performed ex- 
cellent service during the troubled times of the election of that year, and on 
the 17th of November they returned to the brigade. During this time Colonel 
Ripley was in command of the brigade; in December he resumed command of 
the regiment. 

When the reorganization of army corps occurred in December the Ninth 
was attached to the Second Brigade, Third Division, Twenty- fourth Corps. At 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 115 

the inspection of regiments, under general orders of January 17, 1865, to de- 
termine which were the best regiments in brigades and divisons, the Ninth 
Vermont gained the post of honor in its division On the 20th of February 
the regiment was first pronounced the best in the brigade, and under provisions 
of a general order was excused from all picket and outside detail for one week. 
On the 6th of March they were again pronounced the best in the brigade and 
excused again from all picket and outside duty for a week ; and on the loth 
of March, after careful inspection at division headquarters, they were announced 
in orders to be the best regiment in the division, — a division comprising 
twenty regiments and which was, in the opinion of the corps commander, "as 
completely fitted for the field as a command could well be, " — and the regi- 
ment was again excused from details for an additional week. The officers and 
men of the regiment were justly proud of the distinction thus obtained, not 
merely on their own account, but for the honor thereby conferred upon their 
State. Before the period had terminated during which the regiment had been 
excused from details, the men of the regiment made application to be allowed 
to again go upon duty to relieve their comrades of the brigade whose duties 
were rendered exceedingly arduous by the excuse of this regiment. This act 
of genuine good-will called forth another complimentary order from division 
headquarters. 

The regiment was one of the first to enter Richmond after its evacuation 
and was stationed at that city until mustered out. On the 13th of June the 
original members of the regiment and the recruits whose terms of service were 
to expire before the 1st of October, were mustered out. The remaining members 
of the regiment were consolidated into a battalion of four companies, which was 
stationed at Richmond for a time, and then moved to Portsmouth, Va., and 
mustered out December i, 1865. 

Fiist Regiment Sharpshooters, Company F. — This company was recruited 
in Rutland county, being distributed through the various towns about as 
follows: Brandon, 4; Castleton, 2; Clarendon, 5; Danby, 12; Fairhaven, 5 ; 
Ira, 4; Mendon, i ; Mount Tabor, 10; Pawlet, 6; Pittsfield, i ; Pittsford, 10; 
Poultney, 4; Rutland, 19; Sherburne, 3; Shrewsbury, 2; Sudbury, i ; Wal- 
lingford, 5. These figures were increased so that the company numbered one 
hundred and fifteen men ; it was mustered into the service at Randolph on 
the 13th of September, 1861, for three years. The company ofificers were as 
follows: Captain, Edmund Weston; first lieutenant, C. W. Seaton ; second 
lieutenant, M. V. B. Bronson ; first sergeant, H. E. Kinsman ; second ser- 
geant, E. W. Hindes; third sergeant, Amos H. Bunker; fourth sergeant, Milo 
C. Priest ; fifth sergeant, L. J. Allen ; first corporal, Daniel Perry ; second cor- 
poral, P'red. E. Streeter ; third corporal, Ai Brown ; fourth corporal, VV. C. 
Kent; fifth corporal, H. J, Peck ; sixth corporal, W. H. Taft ; seventh corpo- 
rall, C. D. Merriman ; eighth corporal, C. W. Peck ; bugler, Calvin Morse ; 
wagoner, Edward F. Stevens. 



ii6 History of Rutland County. 

The company left the State on the same day they were mustered and went 
into camp at Weehawken, near New York. September 24 they proceeded to 
Washington and on the 26th went into an instruction camp a short distance 
from the capital. Some of the field officers of the regiment proved incompetent, 
and on the 29th of November, 1861, William Y. W. Ripley (now of Rutland) 
was appointed lieutenant- colonel, vice Frederick Mears resigned. Colonel 
Ripley had seen service for a brief period in Company K, First Vermont Reg- 
iment, as heretofore mentioned. The regiment remained at the camp of in- 
struction through the whole of the winter, perfecting itself in discipline, drill, 
marksmanship, etc. On the 20th of March, 1862, the regiment received or- 
ders to report to Major-General Fitz John Porter, at Alexandria ; and from 
this time on, so varied were the services of the sharpshooters that we can 
only mention in the merest outline its important movements. Meanwhile the 
regiment was armed with Colt's revolving rifles, a weapon that proved entirely 
inefficient. 

March 22 the regiment embarked on steamer for Fortress Monroe, arrived 
safely and on the 28th led the advance at Great Bethel; Company F was the 
first to come under fire. No loss was suffered by the regiment. April 4 the 
advance upon Yorktown was made, the sharpshooters again in the advance. 
In the skirmishing at the opening of the long siege of Yorktown, the sharp- 
shooters were in the line and Company F was very active and efficient in silenc- 
ing the enemy's artillery. Corporal C. W. Peck was here severely wounded. 
The regiment was highly complimented the next day by General Porter. 
During the battle of Williamsburgh, May 5, Companies A and C of the reg- 
iment bore honorable part; but Company F was held in front of Yorktown. 

In the battle of Hanover Court- House May 27, the sharpshooters accom- 
panied the troops that destroyed the railroad bridges over the North and 
South Anna Rivers, and headed the column that turned upon the rebel force 
which had come between the expedition and the main army. In the severe 
fighting that ensued Company F was prominent and the regiment suffered 
considerable loss — about twenty men killed and wounded ; three of the latter 
were from Company F — Sergeant Lewis J. Allen, Benjamin Billings and W. 
F. Dawson ; the latter died from his wound on the 1st of June. 

Between June 25th and 30th occurred the engagements on the Chicka- 
hominy, at Mechanicsville, Gaines's Mill and Charles City Cross-Roads, in all 
of which the sharpshooters were conspicuous for efficient services. For mi- 
nute details of this period of action we must refer the reader to General Rip- 
ley's admirable little book on the career of Company F, and to other works. 
On the 27th at Gaines's Mill the company suffered heavily, losing B. W. Jordan 
and James A. Read, killed, and E. H. Hindes wounded. 

On the 30th of June the sharpshooters reached Malvern Hill and that 
ni"-ht bivouacked on the ground over which they were to fight on the follow- 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 117 

ing day. At dawn they took the front skirmish line, covering the left of the 
Union army. Here the midday attack was awaited and about noon on came 
the rebel columns. Artillery firing opened the battle and soon became heavy. 
At half-past two the rebel infantry rushed from the edge of a forest. Bugler 
Morse, of Company F, was ordered to sound the order to begin firing, and 
from the unerring rifles of the sharpshooters was poured such volleys that the 
advance was checked and the enemy sent back to the cover of the wood. It 
was, however, but a momentary repulse, for another line soon appeared from 
the trees. Still the sharpshooters clung to their ground, firing rapidly and 
thinning the rebel ranks. At this juncture a line of the enemy's skirmishers 
began firing at point blank on the right flank from the shelter of a roadway, 
and the sharpshooters were forced to retreat far enough to escape the assault. 
Now the enemy's artillery came dashing out into the open field and made des- 
perate efibrts to open their firing, but under the storm of musket shots which 
fell upon them, the artillerists were swept away, leaving their guns on the field 
without having fired a shot. The advanced position of the sharpshooters was 
now no longer tenable and they were withdrawn to the rear of the Fourth 
Michigan Regiment. At the critical moment in the final desperate assault of 
the rebels under Magruder in the afternoon, which was heroically repulsed, the 
sharpshooters, having been placed in line on the right of the Michigan regi- 
ment named, bore a conspicuous part. Repeatedly did the enemy come on 
to attack and as often were they repulsed. In the second attack the sharp- 
shooters found their ammunition gone and they were withdrawn from the 
front. In this battle the regiment lost many officers and men. Colonel Rip- 
ley, Captain Austin and Lieutenant Jones, the last two of Company E, were 
among the wounded, with Lieutenant C. W. Seaton, Jacob S. Baile}' and Brig- 
ham Buswell, of Company F. 

After the Peninsular campaign the army lay at Harrison's Landing, and 
there the following changes occurred in Company F : Sergeant Amos H. 
Bunker, Azial N. Blanchard, William Cooley, George W. Manchester and 
Charles B. Odell were discharged on surgeon's certificates of disability, and 
Brigham Buswell was discharged on account of disability resulting from 
wounds. Benjamin W. Jordan and James A. Read died of wounds received 
at Gaines's Mill, and W. S. Tarbell, of disease. E. F. Stevens and L. D. Gro- 
ver were promoted sergeants and W. H. Leach and Edward Trask were made 
corporals. At this camp also Captain 'Weston resigned and Lieutenant C. W. 
Seaton was appointed captain ; Second Lieutenant M. V. B. Bronson was 
promoted first lieutenant and E. W. Hindes second lieutenant. Major Trepp 
was promoted lieutenant-colonel, vice William Y. W. Ripley, and Captain 
Hastings of Company H, was made major. The regiment remained at Har- 
rison's Landing until the army left the Peninsula. 

On the 28th of August the sharpshooters reached Bristow's Station and 



History of Rutland County. 



on the 29th took part in the battle of Gainesville ; they were the last to leave 
an advanced position and then only because they were out of ammunition. 
Corporals H. J. Peck and Ai Brown and private W. H. Blake, of Company F, 
were wounded. 

At Antietam Septemher 17, and Blackburn's Ford, the 19th and 20th, the 
sharpshooters were engaged, but suffered no losses. They remained near 
Sharpsburgh, Md., until October 30, in the mean time being reclothed, and on 
the date named they crossed the Potomac at Harper's Ferry and moved south 
towards Warrenton ; the same night of their arrival they were placed on 
picket at Snicker's Gap. Thence they proceeded to Warrenton, where Mc- 
Clellan, much to the regret of the men, was relieved of his command. The 
sharpshooters were at Fredericksburg December 13, but did not cross the 
river and were not actively engaged. The regiment wintered at Falmouth, 
and in the spring, when Hooker reorganized the army, were transferred to the 
Third Corps, under General Sickles. In February Lieutenant Bronson re- 
signed and was succeeded by Lieutenant E. W. Hindes, while Sergeant C. D. 
Merriman was promoted second lieutenant. 

At the battle of Chancellorsville, May 1-5, the sharpshooters were again 
especially utilized, generally in the front as skirmishers and often so closely 
drawn up as to form a practical line of battle. Such was the case of the 2d, 
when, after having swept back one line of the enemy, the regiment 
changed front to the left, where a hotly contested position was finally taken by 
them, with the capture of nearly the whole of the Twenty-Third Georgia Reg- 
iment. In this affair Edward Trask and A. D. Griffin, of Company F, were 
wounded. On the third day of the battle the sharpshooters, and particularly 
Company F, won the highest encomiums for brave and determined services ; 
they were always in front. Michael Cunningham, J. S. Bailey and E. M. 
Hosmer, Company F, were wounded on this day. On the fourth day Com- 
pany F was relieved from picket duty, rejoined the regiment, which led Whip- 
ple's Division in a brilliant charge. In the fighting that followed General 
Whipple was killed. On the 5th of May the regiment was again placed in 
front on picket. Martin C. Laffie was slightly wounded later in the day. The 
sharpshooters now returned to their Falmouth camp. 

Here the regiment remained until the I ith of June, when they broke camp 
and left their temporary home for the third time. On the 25th, after rapid 
marching, the Potomac was crossed at Edwards's Ferry. On the 29th the 
march to Tanej-town was made, and the next day to near Emmetsburgh. On 
the morning of July I they heard the guns at Gettysburg and started for the 
field of action, which was reached at sunset. The fighting of that day was 
over. We cannot follow the command through this memorable battle ; it must 
suffice to say that the service performed by the sharpshooters was, as usual, of 
the most valuable and heroic character. On the 2d of July Company F lost 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 



Sergeant A. H. Cooper, killed, and George Wooley and W. H. Leach wounded. 
In the two days succeeding the regiment suffered severely and L. B. Grover 
and Charles B. Mead, of Company F, were wounded. On the 19th the 
sharpshooters had returned to Snicker's Gap, their former halting place. 

On the 23d the sharpshooters took the advance in the Wapping's Heights 
affair. Proceeding southward the 31st of July found the regiment near White 
Sulphur Springs where they lay until September 15. They then marched ten 
miles farther south to Culpepper, and remained to October 10. On the 13th 
they took port in the Cedar Run engagement, Edward Jackson being wounded, 
and the ne.xt encampment was made at Catlett's Station, where the sharpshoot- 
ers lay until November 7. On that day was fought the engagement at Kel- 
ly's Ford, in which Captain Merriman and Company F captured over five hun- 
dred of the enemy inside a line of works. Patrick Murray was killed and Eu- 
gene Mead, Watson P. Morgan and Fitz Green Halleck wounded. For their 
gallantry in this affair the sharpshooters were highly complimented. 

In the battle of Locust Grove, November 27, the regiment was again con- 
spicuous, and E. S. Hosmer, of Company F, was killed ; and A. C. Cross, 
Eugene Payne, Sherod Brown, and Corporal Jordan wounded. Three days 
later the regiment was engaged on the skirmish line at Mine Run, and drove 
the enemy three-fourths of a mile. December i they went into winter quar- 
ters at Brandy Station, remaining until May without important action. 

On the 4th of May, Company F, numbering two officers and forty-three 
enlisted men, crossed the Rapidan with the main army, and the following day, 
in the Wilderness, they were deployed on the left of the Vermont 'Brigade, 
Company F having the right. The troops on the right being forced back, the 
sharpshooters were attacked in flank, the force of the blow falling on Company 
F. They were forced to retire, their loss in five minutes being five killed or 
mortally wounded, and two taken prisoners. Corporal David M. French, W. 
J. Domag, and E. E. Trask were killed on the field ; A. C. Cross and William 
Wilson were mortally wounded, and M. Cunningham, Spaftbrd A. Wright, 
John C. Page, S. M. Butler, and William McKeever were severely wounded. 
The next day the were engaged in the severe battle on the Plank Road, losing 
one man killed, Jacob Lacoy. On the 7th Company F, and one other com- 
pany, were deployed on the right of the road, the remainder of the regiment 
being on the left and advanced about a mile, driving in the enemy's pickets 
and advancing within forty yards of their entrenchments. Here the were or- 
dered to charge ; but the enemy opened a heavy fire, and they were forced to 
retire about a hundred yards to the rear, until a general movement to the left 
was made. In Company F Edward Giddings and Joseph Hagan were killed, 
and Lieutenant Kinsman, D. R. Bareau, Henry Mattocks and Edward Lyman 
wounded. 

The regiment was engaged in skirmishing daily until the 12th, on which 



History of Rutland County. 



day the Second Corps charged upon the strongest position of the enemy at 
Spottsyivania, capturing several thousand prisoners. Company F was en- 
gaged during the entire day and Henry Mattocks (whose former wound was 
slight), Thomas Brown and John Bowen were killed, and Amos A. Smith and 
J. E. Chase wounded. 

On the 2 1st of May the regiment marched twenty-eight miles, crossing the 
Mattapony, skirmishing more or less, and on the 23d reached the North Anna, 
where they were engaged on the skirmish line every day until the evening of 
the 27th, when they marched to the Pamunky River, and crossed it on the 
28th. Here they were further engaged until June i, when they moved to Cold 
Harbor. In this battle, from the 1st to the 5th, the sharpshooters took part, 
but suffered no losses. Picket duty followed to the 13th of June, when they 
marched to the James River, crossed on the 14th, and the next day marched 
twenty-five miles to Petersburg. From the i6th to the 20th of June they 
were engaged every day in important service. On the i6th Caspar B. Kent, 
Company F, was killed, and on the following day fell Corporal Charles B. 
Mead. Henry E. Barnum was mortally wounded and died on the 14th of 
July ; John Quinlan was severely wounded. On the next day Silas Giddings 
was wounded, and in the severe fighting of the 21st, Barney Leddy and Peter 
Lafflin were killed ; Watson P. Morgan was wounded and taken prisoner, and 
Sergeant Grover and David Clark were wounded. From this time to the 26th 
of July the regiment was employed much of the time on picket, but without 
important incident. 

On the afternoon of the 27th the corps, with the sharpshooters, crossed the 
James River, marched a little northward where they were in camp to the 12th 
of August ; then the march towards City Point began. No one knew their 
destination. Down the river on transports, then after some hours at anchor, 
again turning up the stream, the troops landed on the morning of the 14th at 
Deep Bottom. On the 15 th the regiment was detached from the Second and 
ordered to the Tenth Corps. Moving toward the front they found themselves 
in the afternoon on the extreme right of the army, where they were deployed 
against the rebel skirmishers, who were repulsed. Again on the i6th severe 
fighting occurred, but without loss to Company F, although the regiment at 
large suffered considerably. On the 17th the regiment rejoined the Second 
Corps, and marched towards the James River, which was crossed on the night 
of the 19th and the regiment took its position in the lines surrounding Peters- 
burg, relieving the Fifth Corps. On the 20th of June Companies C and A 
were discharged, their term having expired. Of the original one hundred and 
three men mustered in with Company F, there were now left only twenty-five, 
present and absent. Of these six had re-enlisted; the remaining nineteen 
were as follows: C. D. Merriman, Spafford A. Wright, Curtis P. Kimberley, 
W. C. Kent, Eugene Payne, Cassius Peck, Fitz Green Halleck, H. E. Kins- 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 



man, Edward E. Robinson, William McKecver, Almond D. Griffin, E. F. 
Stevens, Watson N. Sgrague, James M. Thompson, Thomas H. Turnbull, W. 
W. Cutting, David O. Daggett, George H. Ellis, and H. B. Wilder ; of these 
nine only were present with the company for muster out. 

During the few days remaining of their term of service the sharpshooters 
were almost constantly engaged, skirmishing by daylight and on picket at 
night. On the 2ist of August they drove the enemy from a rifle-pit on their 
front, capturing forty prisoners, just four times as many as were in their own 
ranks. 

The small remnant of a company kept up an organization under Sergeant 
Cunningham, and on the 27th of October were heavily engaged at Burgess's 
Mill. Here from the few men left Daniel E. Bessie and Charles Danforth were 
killed, and Volney W. Jenks and Jay S. Percy wounded and left on the field. 
Again on the 1st of November the little squad were in action and Friend 
Weeks was mortally wounded. 

December 23 the remaining men were transferred to Company E, of the 
Second Sharpshooters, and Company F had ceased to exist as an organization. 
With Company E the transferred men participated in the Hatcher's Run en- 
gagement December 15. February 25 the consolidated battalion of sharp- 
shooters was broken up and the Vermonters assigned to Company G, Fourth 
Vermont Volunteers, where they served to the close of the war. 

Of Company F thirty-two of its original members died from wounds 
received in action, of whom twenty-one were killed on the field. Its record is 
a most honorable one. 

First Vennont Cavalry. — About one hundred and seventy men from Rut- 
land county joined this organization, distributed among the towns about as 
follows: Benson, 6; Brandon, 2; Castleton, 19; Chittenden, 10; Clarendon, 
10; Danby, 6; Fairhaven, 5 ; Ira, 2 ; Mendon, 2 ; Mount Tabor, i ; Pawlet, 
6; Pittsford, 3; Poultney, 9; Rutland, 61; Shrewsbury, 2 ; Tinmouth, 5 ; 
Wallingford, 14; Wells, 4 ; Westhaven, i. 

The regiment was mustered into the service November 19, 1861, for three 
years. The original members, not veterans, were mustered out November 18, 
1864. The recruits for one year and recruits whose term of service would e.x- 
pire previous to October I, 1865, were mustered out June 21, 1865. The 
remaining officers and men were then consolidated into a battalion of si.x com- 
panies, which was mustered out August 9, 1865. 

Of the officers who were from Rutland county Charles A. Adams was sec- 
ond lieutenant of Company H from October 19, 1861 ; first lieutenant Com- 
pany H October 30, 1862; captain of Company H April 1, 1863 ; wounded 
July 3, 1863, and October 11, 1863 ; prisoner of war from October II, 1863, 
to March 5, 1865 ; mustered out June 21, 1865. 

John H. Hazleton went out as a private in Company H, and was made 



History of Rutland County. 



company quartermaster-sergeant November ig, 1 86 1 ; first sergeant August 
I, 1862; second lieutenant Company H October 30, 1862; first lieutenant 
Company H April i, 1863 ; captain of Company M July 6, 1863 ; mustered 
out August 9, 1865. 

Emmet Mather went out as private in Company H, and was made corporal 
November 19, 1861 ; sergeant December 4, 1861 ; first sergeant May i, 1863 ; 
wounded July 3, 1863; first lieutenant Company H July 6, 1863; captain of 
Company H April 14, 1865 ; transferred to Company F June 21, 1865 ; mus- 
tered out August 9, 1865. 

Selah G. Perkins, captain of Company H, killed in action September 22, 
1862. 

Franklin T. Huntoon went out as second lieutenant of Company H, and 
was promoted to captain October, 1862, and honorably discharged March 26, 
1863. 

Gilbert Steward went out as private in Company G ; made second lieuten- 
ant of Company G October 4, 1862 ; commissioned first lieutenant of Company 
G April 28, 1863 ; wounded July 6, 1863, and died July 29, 1864, of wounds 
received in action at Stony Creek Station, Va., June 28, 1864. 

James Barrett went out as private in Company G ; was made bugler and 
re-enlisted December 30, 1863 ; made first sergeant November 15, 1864; pro- 
moted to second lieutenant May 9, 1865 ; mustered out June 21, 1865. 

Carlos A. Barrows, private in Company H, was made first sergeant Novem- 
ber 19, 1861; commissioned second lieutenant April i, 1863; mustered out 
June 21, 1865. 

To attempt to give a history, however brief, in these pages of the extended 
career of this organization is utterly impossible. The history of cavalry regi- 
ments is always replete with stirring incidents — rapid marches, fearless and 
brilliant charges, and desperate hand-to-hand encounters, the details of which, 
while often of paramount interest, require ample space for their proper descrip- 
tion. We are, therefore, forced to confine ourselves here to mere statistics. 
The long list of engagements in which the First Cavalry shared honorable and 
often the most important part, tells the brief story of what they did and en- 
dured. Beginning with Mount Jackson, they served in engagements of more 
or less importance at Port Republic, April 27, 1862; Middletown, May 24, 
1862; Winchester, May 25, 1862; Luray Court-House, July 2, 1862; Cul- 
pepper Court-House, July 10, 1862; Orange Court-House, August 2, 1862 ; 
Kelley's Ford, August 20, 1862; Waterloo Bridge, August 22, 1862; Bull 
Run, August 30, 1862 ; Ashby's Gap, September, 1862 ; Broad Run, April i, 
1863 ; Greenwich, May 30, 1863 ; Hanover, Pa., June 30, 1863 ; Huntersville, 
Pa., July 2, 1863 ; Gettysburg, July 3, 1863 ; Monterey, July 4, 1863 ; Light- 
ersville, Md., July 5, 1863; Hagerstown, Md., July 6, 1863 ; Boonesborough, 
Md., July 8, 1863 ; Hagerstown, July 13, 1863 ; Falling Waters, July 14, 1863; 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 123 

Port Conway, August 25, 1863; Port Conway, September i, 1863; Culpep- 
per Court-House, September 13, 1863 ; Somerville Ford, September 14, 1863 ; 
Raccoon Ford, September 26, 1863 ; Falmouth, October 4, 1863 ; James City, 
October 10, 1863 ; Brandy Station, October 5, 1863 ; Gainesville, October 18 
and 19, 1863 I Buckland Mills, October 19, 1863; Morton's Ford, November 
28, 1863; Mechanicsville, March I, 1864; Piping Tree, March 2, 1864; 
Craig's Church, May 5, 1864; Spottsylvania, May 8, 1864; Yellow Tavern, 
May II, 1864; Meadow Bridge, May 12, 1864; Hanover Court-House, May 
31, 1864; Ashland, June i, 1864; Hawe's Shop, June 3, 1864; Bottom 
Bridge, June 10, 1864; White Oak Swamp, June 13, 1864; Malvern Hill, 
June 15, 1864; Reams's Station, June 22, 1864; Nottaway Court House, June 
23, 1864; Keyesville, June 24, 1864; Roanoke Station, June 25, 1864; Stony 
Creek, June 28 and 29, 1S64 ; Reams's Station, June 29, 1864 ; Ridley's Shop, 
June 30, 1864; Winchester, August 17, 1S64; Summit Point, August 21, 
1864; Charlestown, August 22, 1864 ; Kearneysville, August 25, 1864 ; Ope- 
quan, September 19, 1864; Front Royal, September 21, 1864; Mooney's 
Grade, September 21, 1864; Milford, September 22, 1864; Waynesborough, 
September 28, 1864; Columbia Furnace, October 7, 1864; Tom's Brook, 
October 9, 1864; Cedar Creek, October 13, 1864; Cedar Creek, October 19, 
1864; Middle Road, November 11, 1864; Middle and Back Road, November 
12, 1864; Lacy's Springs, December 20, 1864; Waynesborough, March 2, 
1865 ; Five Forks, April i, 1865 ; Namozine Church, April 3, 1865 ; Appo- 
mattox Station, April 8, 1865 ; Appomattox Court-House, April 9, 1865. 

The total losses in this regiment during the term of service embracing the 
above list of actions was three hundred and ninety-seven by death; sixty- three 
of these were killed in action. No other cavalry regiment bears a better rec- 
ord than the First Vermont. 

Ths Nine-Months Men. — Under the call of the president for 300,000 nine- 
months volunteers, made August 4, 1862, five regiments were recruited in the 
State. In two of these, the Twelfth and Fourteenth, were companies of Rut- 
land men. In the Twelfth we have already given the enlistment of the Rut- 
land Light Guard, as Company K. Of this regiment the colonel was Asa P. 
Blunt, of St. Johnsbury ; lieutenant-colonel, Roswell Farnham, of Bradford ; 
major, Levi G. Kingsley, of Rutland ; the subsequent promotions of these offi- 
cers will be found in the closing pages of this chapter. 

Of the Fourteenth Regiment four companies were recruited in this county — 
Company B, Captain John C. Thompson, Wallingford ; Company F, Castleton, 
Captain Joseph Jennings, : Company H, Rutland, Captain Walter C. Dunton ; 
Company K, Danby, Captain Alonzo N. Colvin. The colonel was Wm. T. 
Nichols, of Rudand ; lieutenant-colonel, Charles W. Rose, of Middlebury ; 
major, Nathaniel B. Hall, Bennington ; adjutant, Harrison Prindle, Manches- 
ter ; quartermaster, Charles Field, Dorset ; surgeons, Edwin H. Sprague, Mid- 



124 History of Rutland County. 

dlebury, and Adrian T. Woodward, Brandon ; assistant surgeon, L. C. Ross, 
Poultney ; chaplain, Wm. S. Smart, Benson. The subsequent promotions of 
these officers, as far as they belonged to this county, are given in the closing- 
pages of this chapter. 

The following statement shows the distribution of the Rutland county vol- 
unteers in this regiment among the various towns: Benson, Co. D, 22. Cas- 
tleton, Co. F, 34. Chittenden, Co. H, 10. Clarendon, Co. B, 9. Danby, Co.. 
B, 20; Co. K, 5. Fairhaven, Co. F, 28. Hubbardton, Co. F, 12; Co. D, i. 
Ira, Co. H, 7. Mendon, Co. H, 2. Middletown, Co. B, 7. Mount Holly, 
Co. H, II ; Co. B. I. Pawlet, Co. K, i ; Co. B, 24. Pittsford, Co. H. 3. 
Pittsfield, Co. H, 5. Poultney, Co. F, 19; Co. K, 4. Rutland, Co. H, 33. 
Sherburne, Co. H, 11. Shrewsbury, Co. H, 4; Co. B, 20. Sudbury, Co. F,. 
I. Tinmouth, Co. B, 4. Wallingford, Co. B, 15 ; Co. K, 3 ; Co. H. i. Wells,. 
Co. K, II. Westhaven, Co. F, 7 ; Co. D, 4. 

Wheelock G. Veazey was appointed colonel of the Sixteenth Regiment, and 
Redfield Proctor of the Fifteenth, recruited under this call. The regiments as 
fast as recruited went into camp at Brattleboro, the Twelfth on September 25 ; 
the Thirteenth, September 29 ; the Fourteenth, October 6 ; the Fifteenth, Oc- 
tober 8 ; the Sixteenth, October 9. They were brigaded together as the Sec- 
ond Brigade and placed under command of Brigadier-General Edwin H. 
Stoughton. He was subsequent!}^ captured, when the command was for a time 
assumed by Colonel Asa P. Blunt, of the Twelfth Regiment. In April, 1863, 
Brigadier- General George J. Stannard was assigned to the command until the 
expiration of the term of service. 

Until June, 1863, the brigade was stationed in front of Washington, the 
various regiments being located in the vicinity of Fairfax and Wolf Run 
Shoals, and engaged principally in picket duty. On the 25th of June the brig- 
ade left the line of works, under orders to report to Major-General Reynolds,, 
commanding the First Corps. On the evening of July I the brigade joined 
that corps at Gettysburg, after an exhausting march of seven days, during 
which they made more than one hundred and twenty-five miles.' The Twelfth 
and Fifteenth Regiments were ordered to the rear to protect wagon trains and 
did not participate in the battles of the Second and Third, although the Fif- 
teenth, under Colonel Proctor, was advanced towards the front after the first 
order to the rear ; to the Twelfth and Fifteenth the order was given that the 
regiment numbering the most men should go to the front, and the Fifteenth 
slightly out-counted the Twelfth, but the service of the latter proved fully as 
important as that of the other ; the Fifteenth being again sent to the rear the 
next day. On the evening of the 2d of July the remaining regiments of the 
brigade were moved to the front line, to fill the place of troops that had been 
shattered b\' the onslaughts of the enemy. To give the reader an idea of the 
very important and gallant service of this brigade in the Gettysburg battle of 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 125 

the 3d we cannot do better than reproduce a portion of the official report of 
General Stannard, as follows: — 

" Before reaching the ground, the Twelfth and Fifteenth Regiments were 
detached by order of General Reynolds as a guard to the corps wagon train in 
the rear. The Fifteenth rejoined the brigade next morning, but was again 
ordered back for the same duty about noon of that day. After the opening of 
the battle of the 2d the left wing of the Thirteenth Regiment, under Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Munson, was ordered forward as support to the skirmishers in 
our front. While stationing them Captain A. G. Foster, assistant- inspector- 
general of my staff, was seriously wounded by a ball through both legs, de- 
priving me of his valuable services for the remainder of the battle. Just 
before dark of the same day, our army line on the left of the center having 
become broken, under a desperate charge of the enemy, my brigade was or- 
dered up. The right wing of the Thirteenth Regiment, under command of 
Colonel Randall, was in advance and upon reaching the breach in the line was 
granted by General Hancock, commanding upon the spot, the privilege of mak- 
ing effort to retake the guns of Company C, Regular Battery, which had just 
been captured by the enemy. 

"This they performed in a gallant charge, in which Colonel Randall's horse 
was shot under him. Four guns of the battery were retaken, and two rebel 
field pieces, with about eighty prisoners, were captured by five companies of 
the Thirteenth in this single charge. The front line thus re-established, was 
held by this brigade for twenty-six hours. About two o'clock of the 3d in- 
stant the enemy commenced a vigorous attack upon our position. After sub- 
jecting us for an hour and a half to the severest cannonade of the whole battle 
from nearly one hundred guns, the enemy charged with a heavy column of in- 
fantry. The charge was aimed direcdy upon my command, but owing appar- 
ently to the firm front shown them, the enemy diverged midway and came 
upon the line on my right. But they did not thus escape the warm reception 
prepared for them by the Vermonters. As soon as the change of the point of 
attack became evident, I ordered a flank attack upon the enemy's column. 
Forming in the open meadow in front of our line, the Thirteenth and Sixteenth 
Regiments marched down in column by the flank, changed front forward at 
right angle to the main line of battle of the army, bringing them in line of bat- 
tle upon the flank of the charging column of the enemy, and opened a destruc- 
tive fire at short range, which the enemy sustained but a very few minutes be- 
fore the larger portion of them surrendered and marched in, not as conquerors, 
but as captives. They had hardly dropped their arms before another rebel 
column appeared charging upon our left. Colonel Veazey, of the Sixteenth, 
was at once ordered back to take it in its turn upon the flank. This was done 
-as successfully as before. The rebel force, already decimated by the fire of the 
Fourteenth Regiment, was scooped almost en masse into our lines. The Six- 



126 History of Rutland County. 

teenth took in this charge the regimental colors of the Second Florida and 
Eighth Virginia Regiments, and the battle-flag of another rebel regiment. 

"The Sixteenth was supported for a time, in the now advanced position it 
occupied after the charge, by four companies of the Fourteenth under com- 
mand of Lieutenant-Colonel Rose. 

" The movements I have briefly described were executed in the open field 
under a heavy fire of shell, grape and musketry, and they were performed with 
the promptness and precision of battalion drill. They ended the contest on the 
center and substantially closed the battle. 

"Officers and men behaved like veterans, although it was for most of them 
their first battle, and I am content to leave it to the witnesses of the fight 
whether or no they sustained the credit of the service and the honor of our 
Green Mountain State. " 

Little need be added of the brilliant part taken by this brigade in that 
memorable battle. It is still characterized as a most important feature of the 
engagement, particularly the action of the Sixteenth Regiment under Colonel 
Veazey. The total killed in the brigade was reported as thirty-nine, and 
wounded two hundred and forty-eight; of these the Fourteenth Regiment lost 
seventeen killed and sixty-eight wounded. 

The terms of service of the regiments in this brigade soon expired and they 
were mustered out, the Twelfth on the 14th of July; the Thirteenth, July 21 ; 
the Fourteenth, July 30; the Fifteenth, August 5; and the Sixteenth, Au- 
gust 10. 

Second Battery Light Artillery. — This account would be scarcely complete 
without some honorable mention of this organization. The battery was mus- 
tered into the service December 16 and 24, 1861, for three years. The origi- 
nal members not veterans were mustered out September 20, 1864; the excess 
of recruits being then organized as the first company of Heavy Artillery, Ver- 
mont Volunteers, March i, 1865. This battery was mustered out July 31, 
1865. In the batterj' were about eighty-seven men from Rutland county, 
distributed among the towns about as follows: Benson, I ; Brandon, 34; Cas- 
tleton, 7 ; Chittenden I ; Clarendon, I ; Hubbardton, I I ; Ira, I ; Pittsford, I ; 
Poultney, 6; Rutland, 9 ; Sudbury, 13; Wallingford, i. 

The officers in the battery from Rutland county were John W. Chase, of 
Brandon, who went out as second lieutenant and was promoted first lieutenant 
November 1, 1862. 

John A. Quilty, second lieutenant, also of Brandon ; resigned August 26, 
1862. 

Henry F. Tower, of Ira, went out as a private; was made corporal March 
28, 1864; and quartermaster-sergeant September I, 1864. 

The battery left the State for New Orleans on the 6th of February, 1862. 
Its entire operations were confined to the Department of the Gulf, of which we 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 



have but meagre details. In March, 1863, they were at Baton Rouge, and 
during the latter part of the same year and down to the time of their muster 
out, they were estabUshed at Port Hudson, in the siege of which position they 
did lionorable and valuable service. The losses of the battery were fifty-four 
total by death, forty-seven of whom died from disease. After the muster out 
of the original members the battery was largely reinforced, and thus retained 
its organization. 

The battery was mustered out at Burlington on the 31st of July, 1865. 

To conclude this necessarily brief record of the immense services of the men 
of Rutland county in suppressing the most gigantic rebellion the world has 
ever known, it should be stated that many recruits from this county and vicin- 
ity were enlisted in other organizations, the records of which it cannot be ex- 
pected we should follow in these pages ; their history will be properly traced 
by abler hands in other volumes 

In order that the individual promotions of Rutland county men whose 
deeds brought them commissions as officers may be understood by the reader, 
we give space to the following roster. In the absence of more detailed per- 
sonal sketches, for which space in these pages cannot be allowed, the record 
will be of great value. It should also be remembered that complete rolls of 
enlisted men in the various towns in the county will be found in the histories 
of the towns in later pages of this work. They are placed in that position in 
order to render each of the town histories complete in itself, and in connection 
with this chapter, form a very perfect military record of the county : — 

ROSTER OF OFFICERS. 

Charles A. Adams, of Wallingford, age 23, second lieutenant, Co. H, First 
Cavalry, October 19, '61 ; first lieutenant, October 30, '62; captain, April i, 
'6t,\ major, November 18, '64; wounded, July 3, '61 and October 11, '6^\ 
prisoner of war from October 11, '6^ to March 5, '65 ; mustered out of service 
June 21, '65. 

Henry H. Adams, of Wallingford, age 20, private, Co. C, Tenth Regiment, 
Jul)^ 16, '62; corporal, September i, '62; sergeant, August 6, '6'^; regimental 
quartermaster-sergeant, July I, '64; mustered out of service June 22, '65. 

Charles T. Allchinn, of Pittsford, age 33, first lieutenant, Co. G, P^ifth Reg- 
iment, September 4, '61 ; resigned Novemmber 22, '61. 

George C. Babcock, of Poultney, age 19, private, Co. F, Sixth Regiment, 
September 26, '61 ; sergeant, October 15, '61; wounded April 16, '62 ; first 
sergeant, December 28, '63 ; re-enlisted January 31, '64; first lieutenant, April 
14, '64; killed in action at Wilderness, Va., May 5, '64. 

Charles C. Backus, of Brandon, age 24, private, Co. G, Sixth Regiment, 
September 23, '61 ; sergeant, October 15, '61 ; second lieutenant, June 14, '62 ; 
first lieutenant, November i, '62; mustered out of service October 28, '64. 



128 History of Rutland County. 

Hiram Bailey, of Brandon, age 35, private, Co. B, Second Regiment, May 
17, '61 ; corporal, June 20, '61 ; sergeant, March 7, '62; second lieutenant, 
November 24, '62 ; killed in action at Cold Harbor, Va., June 3, '64. 

Edwin M. Baldwin, of Wallingford, age 24, second lieutenant, Co. M, 
Frontier Cavalry, January ID, '65 ; first lieutenant, March 24, '65 ; captain, 
April 6, '65 ; mustered out of service June 27, '65. 

Wallace E. Baldwin, of Brandon, age 19, private, Co. H, Fifth Regiment. 
September 4, '61 ; sergeant, ; first sergeant, ; re-enlisted De- 
cember 15, '63; wounded May 5, '64; first lieutenant Co. D, November 19, 
'64; mustered out of service June 29, '65. 

Alfred C. Ballard, of Tinmouth, age 28, second lieutenant, Co. B, Ninth 
Regiment, June 20, '62; first lieutenant. May i, '6^; resigned June 27, '64. 

Henry Ballard, of Tinmouth, age 24, second lieutenant, Co. I, Fifth Regi- 
ment, September 12, '61 ; resigned July 30, '62. 

James Barrett, of Rutland, age 22, private, Co. G, First Cavalry, Novem- 
ber 19, '61; bugler; re-enlisted December 30, '6^; first sergeant, November 
15, '64; second lieutenant. May 9, '65 ; mustered out of service June 21, '65. 

Carlos A. Barrows, of Wallingford, age 27, private, Co. H, First Cavalry, 
September 23, '61 ; first sergeant, November 19, '61 ; second lieutenant, April 
I, '63 ; mustered out of service June 21, '65. 

Adoniram J. Blakely, of Pawlet, age 28, first lieutenant, Co. B, August 17, 
'62 ; mustered out of service July 30, '63. 

William H. Bond, of Danby, age 21, private, Co. A, Second Regiment, 
May 7, '61 ; corporal, January 16, '62; sergeant, November 19, '62; re-en- 
listed December 21, '63 ; first sergeant, August 6, '64 ; wounded August 21, 
'64; mustered out of service July 15, '65. 

Julius H. Bosworth, of Fairhaven, age 34, first lieutenant, Co. F, Four- 
teenth Regiment, September 3, '62 ; discharged July 29, '6^,, for wounds re- 
ceived in action at Gettysburg, Pa., July 3, '63. 

Charles W. Bourne, of Pawlet, age 24, private, Co. C, Eleventh Regiment, 
August 12, '62; hospital steward, December 22, '62; assistant surgeon, No- 
vember 15, '64; mustered out of service June 24, '65. 

William H. Breed, of Pittsford, age 20, private, Co. G, Fifth Regiment, 

August 21, '61; corporal, ; re-enlisted December 15, '63; sergeant, 

February I, '64, wounded May 12, '64; first sergeant, March 27, '65 ; second 
heutenant, June 4, '65 ; mustered out of service June 29, '65. 

Martin V. Bronson, of Rutland, age 25, second lieutenant, Co. F", First 
Regiment, U. S. S. S., August 15, '6i ; first lieutenant, August 2, '62; re- 
signed February 21, '63. 

Harry Brownson, of Rutland, age 34, quartermaster, Twelfth Regiment, 
September 19, '62; mustered out of service, July 14, '62,. 

Nathaniel A. Bucklin, of Sudbury, age 19, private, Co. H, Fifth Regiment, 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 129 

September 4, '61 ; corporal, September 16, '61 ; re-enlisted December 15, '63 ; 
regimental quartermaster- sergeant, November i, '64; second lieutenant, Co. F, 
June 4, '65 ; first lieutenant, Co. I, June 9, '65 ; mustered out of service as 
quartermaster-sergeant, June 29, '65. 

Samuel Buel, of Rutland, age 24, Seventh Regiment, quartermaster- ser- 
geant, February 12, '62; second lieutenant, Co. D, March i, 'Ct, ; mustered 
out of service, August 30, '64. 

Joseph Bush, of Brandon, age 34, captain, Co. G, First Regiment, April 
25, '61 ; mustered out of service, August 15, '61. 

Carlos W. Carr, of Brandon, age 23, private, Co. E, Fourth Regiment, 
September 4, '61 ; sergeant, September 21, '61; first sergeant; second lieu- 
tenant, Co. I, July 19, '62; first lieutenant, Co. F, May 5, '64; transferred to 
Co. A, by reason of consolidation of regiment, February 25, '65 ; transferred 
to Co. C; paroled prisoner; honorably discharged May i, '65. 

Harvey S. Castle, of Castleton, age 22, private, Co. M, .Eleventh Regi- 
ment, August 15, '63; corporal, Februrary 21, '64; sergeant, June 8, '64; 
transferred to Co. D, June 24, '65 ; second lieutenant, Co. A, June 26, '65 ; 
mustered out of service August 25, '65. 

John W. Chase, of Brandon, age ^6, second lieutenant Second Battery 
Light Artillery, December 13, '61 ; first lieutenant, November i, '62 ; captain, 
October 12, '63 ; mustered out of service July 31, '65. 

Philip E. Chase, of Mount Holly, age 28, private Co. I, Second Regiment, 
May 7, '61 ; sergeant, June 20, '61 ; first sergeant, October 15, '61 ; second 
lieutenant, Co. A, January 24, '62 ; first lieutenant, Co. A, May 21, '62; 
wounded May 5, '64; captain, Co. G, October 17, '62; mustered out of serv- 
ice June 29, '64. 

William H. Cheney, of Brandon, age 21, private, Co. H, Fifth Regiment, 
August 26, '61 ; sergeant, September 16, '61 ; wounded, June 29, '62 ; sec- 
ond lieutenant, March i, '6^ ; mustered out of service September 15, '64. 

Willard A. Child, of Pittsford, age 31, assistant surgeon, First Regiment, 
April 26, '61 ; mustered out of service August 15, '61 ; re-entered the serv- 
ice as assistant surgeon. Fourth Regiment, August 15, '61; promoted sur- 
geon. Tenth Vermont Volunteers, August 6, '62 ; mustered out of service 
June 22, '65. 

Alanda W. Clark, of Rutland, age 28, first lieutenant Fourteenth Regi- 
ment, September 10, '62 ; mustered out of service July 30, 'Cs- 

Charles Clark, of Poultney, age 23, first lieutenant, Co. I, Seventh Regiment, 
February I, '62 ; captain Co. I, August 28, '62 ; resigned December 7, '63. 

Lathrop J. Cloyes, of Brandon, age 26, second lieutenant, Co. G, Twelfth 
Regiment, September 22, '62 ; first lieutenant, March 16, '63 ; mustered out 
of service July 14, '63. 

Henry N. Colburn, of Rutland, first lieutenant. First Battery Light Artil- 



I30 History of Rutland County. 

lery, January 15, '62 ; drowned in Neuse River, near Camp Parapet, La., Au- 
gust 7, '62, while bathing. 

Alonzo N. Colvin, of Danby, age 36, captain, Co. K, Fourteenth Regi- 
ment, September 18, '62 ; resigned, February 10, '6^. 

Daniel Conway, of Rutland, age 30, second lieutenant, Co. H, F'ourteenth 
Regiment, September 10, '62 ; mustered out of service July 30, '6],. 

Charles V. Cool, of Sudbury, age 29, private, Co. H, Fifth Regiment, Au- 
gust 28, '61 ; corporal, ; sergeant, ; re-enlisted December 15, '63; 

sergeant-major, December 19, '64; first lieutenant, Co. B, March i, '65 ; mus- 
tered out of service, June 29, '65. 

George H. Cramer, of Brandon, age 22, private, Co. C, Seventh Regiment, 
January lO, '62; wagoner, February 12, '62; commissary-sergeant, Decem- 
ber 10, '62; re-enlisted February 18, '64; first lieutenant, Co. F, September 
13, '64; honorably discharged May 23, '65, for disability. 

George E. Croff", of Rutland, age 23, second lieutenant, Co. D, Seventh 
Regiment, January 7, '62 ; captain Co. D, March i, '63 ; major. Seventh Reg- 
iment, December 13, '65 ; mustered out of service March 14, '66 

William Cronon, of Brandon, age 22, first lieutenant, Co. G, First Regi- 
ment, April 25, '61 ; mustered out of service August 15, '61 ; re-enlisted as 
captain, Co. B, Seventh Regiment, January 6, '62 ; resigned May 30, '6],. 

George D. Davenport, of Brandon, age 29, private, Co. H, Fifth Regiment, 
September 2, '61 ; first sergeant, September 16, '61 ; first lieutenant, Co. G, 
November 22, '61 ; captain, Co. B, December 2, '62; killed in action at Wil- 
derness, Va., May 5, '64. 

Willard G. Davenport, of Brandon, age 18, private, Co. H, Fifth Regiment, 

August 22, '61 ; corporal, September 16, '61 ; sergeant, ; sergeant-major, 

February i, '63; wounded June 5, '63, and May 5, '64; first lieutenant, No- 
vember I, '63 ; mustered out of service September 15, '64. 

William A. Dodge, of Shrewsbury, age 18, private, Co. B, Ninth Regiment, 
May 29, '62; sergeant, July 9, '62; second lieutenant, April 7, '64; wounded 
September 29, '64, and October 27, '64; first lieutenant, October 19, '64; 
resigned and honorably discharged as second lieutenant, June 7, '65, for 
wounds. 

James J. Doty, of Clarendon, age 21, private, Co. M, Eleventh Regiment, 
July 13, '63; corporal, October 7, '63; sergeant, June 17, '65 ; transferred to 
Co. D, June 24, '65 ; second lieutenant, Co. A, June 26, '65 ; mustered out of 
service, August 25, '65. 

David McDevitt, of Rutland, age 31, second lieutenant, Co. A, Thirteenth 
Regiment, September 11, '62 ; mustered out of service, Jul)' 21, '63. 

John O. Dickinson, of Benson, age 24, second lieutenant, Co. C, Seventh 
Regiment, January 15, '62; first lieutenant, October 9, '62; quartermaster, 
September 13, '64; captain, August 22, '65 ; honorably discharged as quarter- 
master, October 10, '65, for disability. 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 131 

Jolin W. Dickinson, of Rutland, age 22, private, Co. L, Eleventh Regiment, 
December 7, '63; corporal, March 23, '64; sergeant, May 29, '64; first ser- 
geant, second lieutenant, Co. B, June 4, '65 ; discharged as first sergeant, Co. 
L, June 22, '65. 

Walter C. Dunton, of Rutland, age 31, captain Co. H, Fourteenth Regi- 
ment, September 10, '62; mustered out of service, July 30, '63. 

Francis M. Edgerton, of Poultney, age 21, private Co. B, Second Regi- 
ment, May 16 '61 ; sergeant, June 20, '61 ; second lieutenant, Co. F, Janu- 
ary 25, '62; adjutant, August 4, '62; mustered out of service, June 29, '64. 

Thomas Everetts, of Brandon, age 28, private, Co. B, Seventh Regiment, 
November 30, '61 ; corporal, February 12, '62; sergeant, March i, '63; re- 
enlisted February 30, '64 ; first sergeant, July 6, '65 ; second lieutenant, March 
I, '66; mustered out of service as first sergeant, March 14, '66. 

Edson H. Fifield, of Poultney, age 24, private, Co. B, Second Regiment, 
May 8, '61 ; corporal, June 20, '61 ; regimental quartermaster- sergeant, April 
26, '62; mustered out of service, July 15, '65. 

Frank N. Finney, of Brandon, age 28, private, Co. B, Seventh Regiment, 
November 16, '61 ; sergeant, February 12, '62 ; second lieutenant, Co. G, Sep- 
tember 24, '62 ; first lieutenant, Co. D, March I, '62, \ captain, Co. H, Febru- 
ary 28, '65 ; retained in service beyond muster-out of regiment, as mustering 
officer ; mustered out of service, April 2, '66. 

Cornelius H. Forbes, of Brandon, age 27, first lieutenant, Co. H, Fifth 
Regiment, September 6, '61 ; adjutant, January 8, '62 ; mustered out of ser- 
vice September 15, '64. 

Henry S. Foot, of Rutland, age 23, second lieutenant, Co. C, Eleventh 
Regiment, August 13, '62; resigned, December 8, '62. 

George O. French, of Castleton, age 18, private, Co. C, Eleventh Regi- 
ment, August 6, '62 ; sergeant, September l, '62 ; first sergeant, January 23, 
'64; wounded October 19, '64; second lieutenant, June 28, '64; killed in 
action before Petersburg, Va., April 2, '65. 

Rollin M. Green, of Poultney, age 26, private, Co. I, Seventh Regiment, 
January 9, '62 ; corporal, February 12, '62; sergeant, July 3, '62 ; second 
lieutenant, October 9, '62 ; first lieutenant, Co. H, March i, '6^, ; died Novem- 
ber 17, '63, at Barrancas, Fla., of disease. 

Elbridge H. Griswold, of Brandon, age 31, first lieutenant, Co. G, Twelfth 
Regiment, September 22, '62 ; resigned March 14, '6},. 

William Goodrich, of Castleton, age 24, first lieutenant, Co. C, Eleventh 
Regiment, August 13, '62; captain, July I I, '63; honorably discharged for 
disability October 17, '64. 

Charles S. Hale, Brandon, age 27, chaplain. Fifth Regiment, May 24, '62 ; 
resigned May 25, '6^ ; re-enlisted August S, '63 ; mustered out of service 
September 15, '64. 



132 History of Rutland County. 

Dan K. Hall, of Pittsford, age 19, private, Co. G, Twelfth Regiment, 
August 18, '62; first sergeant, October 4, '62; second lieutenant, March 16, 
'63 ; mustered out of service July 14, '63. 

George R. Hall, of Rutland, age 24, regimental commissary sergeant. Fifth 
Regiment, September 16, '61 ; second lieutenant, Co. I, August 9, '62 ; first 
lieutenant, March i, '63 ; honorably discharged April 5, '64, for disability. 

Henry M. Hall, of Danby, age 28, second lieutenant, Co. E, Second Regi- 
ment U. S. S. S., October 7, '61 ; resigned March 16, '62. 

William H. Hamilton, of Fairhaven, age 28, private, Co. F, Fourteenth 
Regiment, September 3, '62 ; first sergeant, October 21, '62; second lieuten- 
ant, Co. I, January 16, '63 ; died July 3, '63, of wounds received in action at 
Gettysburg, Pa., July 3, '6^,. 

Arthur W. Hathaway, of Tinmouth, age 24, private, Co. B, Ninth Regi- 
ment, May 31, '62 ; sergeant, July 9, '62 ; first sergeant, February 10, '64; 
second lieutenant, October 19, '64; mustered out of service as first sergeant 
June 13, '65. 

Edwin M. Haynes, of Wallingford, age 27, chaplain, Tenth Regiment, 
August 18. 

Eben S. Hayward, of Rutland, age 32, captain, Co. I, First Regiment, 
April 23, '61 ; mustered out of service August 15, '61. 

John H. Hazelton, of Rutland, private, Co. H, First Cavalry, September 
18, '61 ; company quartermaster- sergeant, November 19, '61 ; first sergeant, 
August I, '62; second lieutenant, October 30, '62; first lieutenant, April i, 
'63 ; captain, Co. M, July 6, '63 ; major. May 23, '65 ; mustered out of service 
August 9, '65. 

Edwin B. Hendry, of Brandon, age 21, private, Co. B, Seventh Regiment, 
November 27, '61 ; sergeant, February 12, '62 ; first sergeant, October 18, '62 ; 
re-enlisted February 17, '64; first lieutenant, April 23, '65; honorably dis- 
charged March I, '66. 

Edwin H. Higley, of Castleton, age 19, private, Co. K, First Cavalry, Sep- 
tember 30, '61 ; first sergeant, November 19, '61 ; second lieutenant, July i6, 
'62; wounded June 23, '64; prisoner June 29, '64; paroled; mustered out 
of service May 15, '65. 

Daniel G. Hill, of Wallingford, age 18, commissary sergeant. Tenth Regi- 
ment, September i, '62 ; second lieutenant, Co. H, January 19, '63 ; first lieu- 
tenant, Co. G, June 17, '64; died of wound received at Opequan, Va., Sep- 
tember 19, '64. 

Ezbon W. Hinds, of Rutland, age 22, private, Co. F, U. S. S S., Septem- 
ber 3, '61 ; sergeant, September 13, '61 ; second lieutenant, August 2, '62 ; 
first lieutenant, February 21, '63 ; captain. May 15, '63 ; honorably discharged 
November 7, '6],, for disability. 

Erwin V. N. Hitchcock, of Pittsford, age 20, first lieutenant, Co. C, Seventh 
Regiment, January 15, '62 ; captain, August 28, '62; resigned June i, '64. 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 



Patrick Hobon, of Brandon, age 20, private, Co. C, Ninth Regiment, June 
4, '62 ; corporal, July 9, '62 ; second lieutenant, Co. I, June 22, '6^ ; first lieu- 
tenant, Co. F, May 8, '64; captain, Co. F, March 13, '65 ; transferred to Co. 
B by reason of consolidation of regiment, June 13, '65 ; mustered out of .ser- 
vice December i, '65. 

David R. Hosford, of Poultney, age 26, private, Co. I, Fifth Regiment, 
September 2, '61 ; corporal, September 16, '61 ; sergeant; re-enlisted Decem- 
ber 15, '63; wounded May 12, '64; first sergeant, September i, '64; first 
lieutenant, Co. I, November 10, '64; captain, Co. A, June 9, '65; mustered 
out of service as first lieutenant, Co. I, June 29, '65. 

John Howe, of Castleton, age 27, first lieutenant, Co. B, May 16, '61 ; 
resigned August 14, '61. 

Franklin T. Huntoon, of Rutland, age 20, second lieutenant, Co. H, First 
Cavalry, October 19, '61 ; captain, October 20, '62 ; honorably discharged 
March 28, '63. 

Matthew Hussey, of Brandon, age 25, private, Co. C, Sixth Regiment, 
October 3, '61 ; corporal, October 15, '61 ; sergeant, November 20, '61 ; first 

sergeant, ; re-enlisted December 13, '63 ; second lieutenant, April 

21, '64; wounded September 19, '64; first lieutenant, May 15, '64; mustered 
out of service October 28, '64. 

George C. Hutchins, of Sherburne, age 29, private, Co. E, Eighth Regi- 
ment, January 10, '62; first sergeant, August i, '62,; re-enlisted Januarys,' 
'64 ; second lieutenant, February 20, '64 ; first lieutenant, February 23, '65 ; 
mustered out of service June 28, '65. 

James T. Hyde, of Castleton, age 2i7 captain, Co. C, Eleventh Regiment, 
August 13, '62 ; resigned November 20, '62. 

Joseph Jennings, of Castleton, age 26, captain, Co. F, Fourteenth Regi- 
ment, September 3, '62 ; mustered out of service July 30, '63. 

Enoch E. Johnson, of Castleton, age 23, captain, Co. D, Second Regiment, 
promoted major, June 17, '64; lieutenant-colonel, June 7, '65; mustered out 
of service July 15, '65. 

George E. Jones, of Rutland, age 21, regimental commissary-sergeant, 
Seventh Regiment, February 12, '62; second lieutenant, Co. E, December 9, 
'62 ; promoted captain and commissary of subsistence, U. S. Volunteers, May 
15, '64. 

Willis F. Keeler, of Pittsford, age 18, private, Co. H, Second U. S. S. S., 
December 11, '61 ; re-enlisted December 21, '63; corporal, March 12, '64; 
wounded May, '64; sergeant, November i, '64; transferred to Co. H, Fourth 
Vermont Volunteers, February 25, '65 ; second lieutenant, January 22, '65 ; 
mustered out of service July 13, '65. 

Edward L. Kelley, of Clarendon, age 22, private Co. B, Ninth Regiment, 
June 18, '62 ; first sergeant, July 9, '62 ; second lieutenant, May I, '63 ; first 



134 jHisTORY OP' Rutland County. 

lieutenant, December 22, '63 ; captain, May 20, '65 ; mustered out of service 
as first lieutenant, June 13, '65. 

Samuel H. Kelley, of Clarendon, age 26, first lieutenant, Co. B, Ninth Reg- 
iment, June 20, '62 ; captain. May i, '68 ; mustered out of service June 13, '65. 

Samuel F. Kilborn, of Poultney, age 19, private, Co. I, Fifth Regiment, 
August 29, '61 ; corporal, ; sergeant, ; re-enlisted Decem- 
ber 15, '63; wounded May 5, '64; first lieutenant, Co. F, June 9, '64; cap- 
tain Co. I, November 19, '64; mustered out of service June 29, '65. 

John B. Kilburn, of Rutland, age 36, captain, Co. D, Seventh Regiment, 
January 9, '62 ; resigned January 11, '62. 

William P. Kimberly, of Brandon, age 19, private, Co. H, Fifth Regiment, 
August 22, '61 ; re-enlisted December 15, '63 ; corporal, December 24, '63 ; 
sergeant, October 12, '64 ; first sergeant, April 2, '65 ; second lieutenant, June 
4, '65 ; mustered out of service June 28, '65. 

Henry W. Kingsley, of Rutland, age 22, quartermaster-sergeant, Tenth 
Regiment, September i, '62; second lieutenant Co. F, December 27, '62; 
wounded severely November 26, '63 ; first lieutenant, June 6, '64 ; captain, 
February 9, '65 ; appointed captain and com. subsistence, U. S. Volunteers, 
January 23, '65. 

Levi G. Kingsley, of Rutland, age 28, second lieutenant, Co. K, First Reg- 
iment, February 8, '60; mustered out of service August 15, '61 ; re-enlisted 
major Twelfth Regiment, September 26, '62 ; mustered out of service July 14, 
'63. 

Charles C. Kinsman, of Brandon, age 21, private, Co. E, Fourth Regiment, 
September 4, '61 ; first sergeant, September, 21, '61 ; second lieutenant Co. D, 
May 15, '62 ; first lieutenant, September 23, '62 ; resigned April 17, '63. 

Walter C. Landon, of Rutland, age 31, captain, Co. K, Twelfth Regiment, 
September 27, '62 ; resigned February 9, '63. 

Daniel H. Lane, of Mount Tabor, age 32, private, Co. I, Seventeenth Reg- 
ment, February 27, '64; musician, April 12, '64; sergeant, January i, '65 ; 
mustered out of service July 14, '65. 

Moses W. Leach, of Clarendon, age 36, private, Co. K, Twelfth Regiment, 
August 8, '62 ; first sergeant, October 4, '62 ; second lieutenant, February 14, 
'63 ; mustered out of service July 14, '63. 

Judson A. Lewis, of Poultney, age 22, private, Co. C, Eleventh Regiment, 
Angust 11, '62; corporal, March 13, '63; regimental commissary-sergeant, Sep- 
tember II, '63; second lieutenant, December 28, '63 ; wounded September 22^ 
'64; first lieutenant, December 2, '64; mustered out of service June 24, '65. 

John H. Macomber, of Fairhaven, age 26, private, Co. C, Eleventh Regi- 
ment, August 12, '62; corporal, September i, '62; sergeant, April 12, '63; 
first lieutenant, Co. I, July 11, '63; wounded June 7, '64; brevet captain, 
April 2, '65, for gallantry in the assault on Petersburg ; captain Co. L, May 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 135 

23, '65 ; transferred to Co. C, June 24, '65 ; mustered out of service August 
25, '65. 

Asa F. Mather, of Fairhaven, age 24, private, Co. C, Eleventh Regiment, 
August 9, '62 ; corporal, September I, '62 ; sergeant, October 30, '63 ; com- 
pany quartermaster- sergeant, December 28, '6;i; second lieutenant. May 13, 
'65 ; mustered out of service as quartermaster- sergeant, June 24, '64. 

Emmet Mather, of Fairhaven, age 21, private Co. H, First Cavalry, October 
5, '61 ; corporal, November 19, '61 ; sergeant, December 4, '61 ; first sergeant, 
May I, '63 ; wounded, July 3, '63 ; first lieutenant, July 6, '63 ; captain, April 
14, '65 ; transferred to Co. F, June 21, '65, by reason of consolidation of reg- 
iment; mustered out of service August 9, '65. 

John E. McGinnis, of Rutland, age 18, private, Co. B, Ninth Regiment, 
December 16, '63 ; corporal, September 26, '64; transferred to Co. C, by rea- 
son of consolidation of regiment, June 13, '65 ; first sergeant, June 15, '65 ; 
first lieutenant, July 3, '65 ; died November 10, '65, of disease. 

Martin J. McManus, of Rutland, age 22, second lieutenant, Co. G, Fifth 
Regiment, September 4, '61 ; resigned November 22, '61. 

William V. Meeker, of Poultney, age 22, private, Co. C, Eleventh Regiment, 
August 5, '62 ; first sergeant, September i, '62 ; second lieutenant, March 29, 
'6^ ; first lieutenant, December 28, '6;^ ; mustered out of service June 24, '65. 

Edmund A. Morse, of Rutland, age — , surgeon. First Regiment, April 26, 
'61 ; mustered out of service August 15, '61 ; re-enlisted, quartermaster. Sev- 
enth Regiment, December 5, '61 ; resigned August 26, '62, to accept promo- 
tion as captain and assistant quartermaster U. S. Volunteers. 

Oliver P. Murdick, of Rutland, age 18, private, Co. D, Seventh Regiment, 
December 9, '61 ; re-enlisted February 17, '64 ; sergeant, June i, '65 ; regi- 
mental quartermaster-sergeant, February i, '66; second lieutenant, March i, 
'66; mustered out of service as quartermaster-sergeant, March 14, '66. 

Henry J. Nichols, of Sudbury, age 18, private, Co. C, Eleventh Regiment, 
August 6, '62; sergeant, September I, '62; second lieutenant, Co. M, October 
7, '6^ ; first lieutenant, Co. B, March 29, '64 ; brevet captain and brevet major, 
April 2, '65, gallantry in the assault on Petersburg; captain, Co. D, June 26, 
'65 ; mustered out of service August 25, '65. 

Joel T. Nichols, of Brandon, age 24, private, Co. D, Seventh Regiment, Jan- 
uary 6, '62; sergeant, February 12, '62; re-enlisted February 16, '64; first 
sergeant May 2, '65 ; first lieutenant, August 22, '65 ; mustered out of service 
March 14, '66. 

William T. Nichols, of Rutland, age 2^, colonel Fourteenth Regiment, Sep- 
tember 25, '62 ; mustered out of service July 30, '6;^. 

; Thomas Noonan, of Clarendon, age 21, private, Co. G, Fifth Regiment, 
September 7, '61 ; re-enlisted December 15, '63 ; sergeant, October 12, '64; 
first lieutenant, November 10, '64; dismissed the service February 28, '65. 



136 History of Rutland County. 

Franklin Noyes, of Brandon, age 31, private, Co. F, Sixth Regiment, Oc- 
tober 4, '61; sergeant, October 15, '61; second lieutenant, March 15, '63; 
honorably discharged November 21, '63, for disability. 

Charles J. Ormsbee, of Brandon, age 20, second lieutenant, Co. H, Fifth 
Regiment, September 6, '61 ; captain, Co. D, September 7, '62 ; killed in action 
at Wilderness, Va., May 5, '64. 

Ebenezer J. Ormsbee, of Brandon, age 26, second lieutenant, Co. G, April 
25, '61 ; mustered out of service August 15, '61 ; re-enlisted, captain, Co. G, 
Twelfth Regiment, September 22, '62 ; mustered out of service July 14, '63. 
Jackson V. Parker, of Brandon, age 27, second lieutenant, Co. B, Seventh 
Regiment, January 6, '62 ; first lieutenant, December 9, '62 ; captain, October 
22, '6^ ; mustered out of service March 14, '66. 

Phineas C. Paul, of Wells, age 24, private, Co. K, Fourteenth Regiment, 
September 18, '62 ; first sergeant October 21, '61 ; first lieutenant, February 
15, '63 ; mustered out of service July 30, '63. 

Robert Pratt, of Brandon, age 18, private, Co. H, Fifth Regiment, Sep- 
tember 3, '61 ; corporal, re-enlisted December 15, '63 ; sergeant, July i, '64; 
first lieutenant, Co. H, November 10, '64; captain, Co. F, May 10, '65 ; mus- 
tered out of service June 29, '65. 

George P. Phalon, of Shrewsbury, age 21, private, Co. I, Seventh Regi- 
ment, February 15, '62 ; corporal, March 19, '62 ; sergeant, November 28, 
'62; first sergeant, March 23, '63; re-enlisted February 15, '64; first lieuten- 
ant, July 13, '65; mustered out of service March 14, '66. 

Edwin Philips, of Tinmouth, age 27, private, Co. G, Sixth Vermont Vol- 
unteers, October 15, '61 ; assistant surgeon, Fourth Vermont Volunteers, Au- 
gust 5, '62 ; surgeon, Sixth Vermont Volunteers, October 28, '63 ; mustered 
out of service June 26, '65. 

Nathan A. Priest, of Mount Holly, age 24, private, Co. I, Second Regi- 
ment, May 7, '61; sergeant, June 20, '61; first sergeant, January 29, '63; 
wounded July 21, '61, June 27, '62, and May 12, '64; first lieutenant, Febru- 
ary 10, '63 ; mustered out of service June 29, '64. 

John A. Quilty, of Brandon, age 23, second lieutenant. Second Battery 
Light Artillery, December 13, '61 ; resigned, August 26, '62. 

Charles] A. Rann, of Poultney, age 39, second lieutenant, Co. F, Four- 
teenth Regiment, September 3, '62 ; mustered out of service July 30, '63. 

Edwin F. Reynolds, of Rutland, age 32, captain, Co. F, Si.xth Regiment, 
October 8, '61 ; killed in action at Lee's Mills, Va., April 16, '62. 

Edwin H. Ripley, of Rutland, age 22, captain, Co. B, Ninth Regiment, 
June 20, '62; major, March 20, '6^; lieutenant-colonel. May 16, '63 ; colonel. 
May 22, '65 ; brevet brigadier-general, August i, '64; mustered out of ser- 
vice June 13, '65. [He left Union College, Schenectady, while a senior to en- 
list as a private.] 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 137 

William Y. W. Ripley, of^ Rutland, age 28, captain, Co. K, first regiment, 
October 21, '59; mustered out of service August 15, '61 ; re-enlisted, lieuten- 
ant-colonel, First Regiment, U. S. S. S., January i, '62; wounded severely, 
July I, '62 ; discharged August 6, '62 ; for promotion. 

George T. Roberts, of Rutland, age 36, first lieutenant, Co. K, First Reg- 
iment, October 21, '59; mustered out of service August 15, '61 ; re-enlisted 
colonel. Seventh Regiment, December 5, '61 ; died August 7, '62, of wounds 
received in action at Baton Rouge, La., August 6, '62. 

William B. Robinson, of Brandon, age 22, private, Co. H, Fifth Regiment, 

August 25, '61 ; sergeant, September 16, '61 ; first sergeant, ; second 

lieutenant, Co. K, April 19, '62 ; transferred to Co. G, ; first lieuten- 
ant, Co. D, October 22, '61 ; wounded. May 5, '64; honorably discharged 
August 8, '64, for wounds. 

George Ross, of Brandon, age 22, private, Co. B, Seventh Regiment, 
November 16, '61 ; sergeant, February 12, '62 ; second lieutenant, December 
9, '62 ; first lieutenant, October 22, '63 ; prisoner of war from February 9, '64, 
to March 7, '65 ; mustered out of service March 15, '65. 

Lucretius D. Ross, of Poultney, age 34, assistant surgeon. Fourteenth 
Regiment, October 8, '62 ; mustered out of service July 30, '6^. 

Edgar M. Rounds, of Rutland, age 29, second lieutenant, Co. K, Twelfth 
Regiment, September 27, '62; first lieutenant, February 14, '6^, ; mustered out 
of service July 14, '63. 

Charles C. Ruggles, of Poultney, age 23, captain, Co. I, Seventh Regi- 
ment, February I, '62 ; died July 24, '62, at Carrolton, La., of disease. 

Charles V. H. Sabin, of Wallingford, age 25, private, Co. F, First Cavalry, 
October 20, '61 ; regimental quartermaster-sergeant, December i, '61 ; quarter- 
master, December 20, '62 ; promoted, captain and assistant quartermaster U. 
S. Volunteers, April 13, '64. 

William H. H. Sabin, of Wallingford, age 19, second lieutenant, Co. C, 
Tenth Regiment, first lieutenant, November 8, '62 ; resigned, January 19, 
'63. 

John A. Salsbury, of Tinmouth, age 34, first lieutenant, Co. C, Tenth Reg- 
iment, August 5, '62 ; captain, Co. I, November 8, '62 ; brevet major, Octo- 
ber 19, '64, for gallantry before Richmond, and in the Shenandoah Valley ; 
mustered out of service as captain Co. I, June 22, '65. 

E. K. Sanborn, of Rutland, age — , assistant surgeon. First Regiment, 
April 26, '61 ; mustered out of service August 15, '61. 

Charles W. Seager, of Brandon, age 22, captain, Co. H, Fifth Regiment, 
September 6, '61 ; wounded June 29, '62 ; resigned November 17, '62. 

Francis R. Shaw, of Pawlet, age 20, private, Co. C, Eleventh Regiment, 
August 12, '62; corporal, October 10, '63 ; sergeant, December 28, '6^ ; first 
sergeant, November 24, '64 ; second lieutenant. May 23, '65 ; mustered out 
of service as first sergeant, June 24, '65. 



138 History of Rutland County. 

Harley G. Sheldon, of Rutland, age 22, private, Co. H, Fourteenth Regi- 
ment, September 10, '62; first sergeant, October 21, '62; second lieutenant, 
Co. K, March 12, '63 ; mustered out of service July 30, '63. 

Elijah J. Sherman, of Brandon, age 30, second lieutenant, Co. C, Ninth 
Regiment, June 24, '62 ; resigned January 7, '6^. 

Merritt H. Sherman, of Clarendon, age 20, private, Co. C, Eleventh Regi- 
ment, August 5, '62 ; sergeant, September i, '62 ; first sergeant, April 12, 
'63 ; second lieutenant, December 28, '65 ; killed in action before Petersburg, 
Va., June 23, '64. 

John T. Sinnott, of Rutland, age 24, first lieutenant, Co. A, Thirteenth 
Regiment, September 11, '62 ; died July, '63, of wounds received in action at 
Gettysburg, Pa., July 3, '6^- 

Darwin A. Smalley, of Brandon, age 20, first lieutenant, Co. B, Seventh 
Regiment, January 6, '62 ; captain, Co. A, October 15, '62 ; major, September 
I, '65 ; mustered out of service October 14, '65. 

William S. Smart, of Benson, age 29, chaplain. Fourteenth Regiment, Oc- 
tober 8, '62 ; mustered out of service July 30, '6^. 

Claudius B. Smith, of Brandon, age 43, chaplain, Second Regiment, June 
6, '61 ; resigned July 8, '62. 

Henry F. Smith, of Castleton, age 32, assistant surgeon, Third Regiment, 
September 15, '62; honorably dffecharged April 22, '64. 

William H. Smith, of Clarendon, age 23, private, Co. I, Seventeenth Reg- 
iment, December 5, '63; sergeant, April 12, '64 ; first sergeant, July i, '64; 
first lieutenant, June 20, '65 ; wounded April 2, '65 ; mustered out of service 
July 14, '65. 

William P. Spaulding, of Poultney, age 36, first lieutenant, Co. I, Fifth 
Regiment, September 12, '61 ; resigned July 7, '62. 

Stephen G. Staley, of Rutland, age S7, first lieutenant, Co. K, Twelfth 
Regiment, September 27, '62 ; captain, February 14, '63 ; mustered out of ser- 
vice July 14, '65. 

Gilbert Steward, of Clarendon, age 23, private Co. G, First Cavalr\', Octo- 
ber 14, '61; second lieutenant, October 4, '62; captain, April 28, '63; 
wounded July 6, '6;^ ; died June 29, '64, of wounds received in action at Stony 
Creek Station, Va., June 28, '64. 

Thomas J. Tarbell, of Mount Tabor, age 27, private, Co. E, Second Regi- 
ment, U. S. S. S., October 16, '61 ; sergeant, November 9, '61 ; first sergeant, 
December 31, '63 ; re-enlisted January 23, '64; second lieutenant, March 13, 
'64 ; died October 9, '64, at Danby, Vt., of wounds received at Wilderness, 
Va., May 6, '64. 

Marquis E. Tenne}', of Mendon, age 18, private, Co. B, Second Regiment, 
August 13, '62; wounded May 3, '6^; sergeant, August 22, '64; first ser- 
geant, December 26, '64 ; second lieutenant, June 7, '65 ; mustered out of 
service June 19, '65. 



Rutland County in the Rebellion. 139 

John C. Thompson, of Danby, age 31, captain, Co. B, Fourteenth Regi- 
ment, August 27, '62 ; mustered out of service July 30, '6^. 

William B. Thrall, of Rutland, age 27, first lieutenant, Co. D, Seventh 
Regiment, February 12, '62 ; resigned September 27, '62. 

Henry F. Tower, of Ira, age 28, private. Second Battery Light Artillery, 
December 18, '6^; corporal, March 28, '64; quartermaster-sergeant, Septem- 
ber I, '64 ; second lieutenant. May i, '65 ; mustered out of service July 31, '65. 

Julius M. Wallace, of Sudbury, age 40, private, Co. H, Fifth Regiment, 
August 29, '61 ; corporal, September 16, '61 ; sergeant, ; first ser- 
geant, ; second lieutenant, Co. K, August 9, '62 ; first lieutenant, 

January 24, '63 ; resigned March 17, '63. 

RoUin C. Ward, of Castleton, age 23, private, Co. B, Second Regiment, 
May 17, '61 ; sergeant, June 20, '61 ; first sergeant; wounded May 12, '62; 
first lieutenant, October i, '62 ; captain, December 20, '62 ; mustered out of 
service September 14, '64. 

Austin E. Woodman, of Pawlet, age 32, second lieutenant, Co. I, Seventh 
Regiment, February i, '62 ; first lieutenant, Co. I, August 28, '62; captain, 
Co. I, December 21, '63 ; resigned June 28, '65. 

John W. Woodruff, of Benson, age 38, first lieutenant, Co. D, Fourteenth 
Regiment, August 29, '62 ; resigned April 13, '63. 

Adrian T. Woodward, of Brandon, age 36, surgeon of Fourteenth Regi- 
ment, February g, '63 ; mustered out of service July 30, '63. 

Henry L. York, of Shrewsbury, age 30, second lieutenant, Co. B, Four- 
teenth Regiment, August 27, '62 ; mustered out of service July 30, '63. 

THE VERMONT VOLUNTEER.S. 

Three cheers for the Green Mountain Boys, old Vermont. 

Who fought for our country so dear. 
When dangers were threatened they marched to tlie front. 

Three cheers for each brave volunteer. 
The thunder of Sumter aroused all their pride. 

As its echoes fell sad on the ear. 
And to join in the conflict each young hero sighed, _ 

Three cheers for tlie brave volunteer. 

Thy valleys shall shout to their fnme, old Vermont, 

And hilltops re-echo the cheer, 
And granite and marble proclaim o'er their dust, 

Thy love for the brave volunteer. 
The spirit of Allen and Stark strung their nerves. 

They never Unew failure nor fear. 
And the Swiss love of freedom burned bright in the soul 

Of each gallant and brave volunteer. 

.■\h ! Dear to each heart was thy fame, old Vermont, 
And the pathway of i/u/y was clear. 



History of Rutland County. 



By the deeds of each brave volunteer. 
A halo of glory shall circle each brow, 

The dead be embalmed in our tears, 
And a country united, when victory is ours, 

Shall honor thy brave volunteers. 

Then hurrah for thy Green Mountain Boys, old Vt 

Their bays shall grow green with the years ; 
With patriot soldiers from each loyal State, 

Side by side stood thy brave volunteers. 
They struck for their country, for freedom and right, 

And God for their help did appear, 
And millions unborn, of the wise and the good. 

Shall huzza for the brave volunteer. 

—Rez: William Ford, 



CHAPTER X. 

CIVIL LIST, COUTV BUILDING, SOCIETIES, ETC. 

Supreme Court Judges — County Court Judges — State's Attorneys — Clerks of County Court — 
Sheriffs of the Couuty — Judges and Registers of Probate — Senators from Rutland County — Public 
Buildings— The I'ost-Office Building — The Town Hall — The High School Building — Court-House 
and Jail — The House of Correction — Rutland County Historical Society — Agricultural Society. 



SUPREME COURT JUDGES. —(The judges of the Superior Court pre- 
vious to the formation of the county are given in the chapter on the courts 
and the bar. In the following Hst the name of the chief judge is given first in 
each year.) For 17S1, Elisha Payne, Moses Robinson, John Fassett, jr., Beza- 
leel Woodward, Joseph Caldwell. 1782, Moses Robinson, Paul Spooner, Jonas 
Fay, John Fassett, Peter Olcutt, 1783, Moses Robinson, Paul Spooner, John 
Fassett, Peter Olcutt, Thomas Porter. 1784, Paul Spooner, John Fassett, Na- 
thaniel Niles, Thomas Porter, Peter Olcutt. 1785, Moses Robinson, Paul 
Spooner, Nathaniel Niles, John Fassett, Thomas Porter. 1786, Moses Robin- 
son, Paul Spooner, Nathaniel Niles, Nathaniel Chipman, Luke Knowlton. 1787, 
Moses Robinson, Nathaniel Niles, Paul Spooner. 1788, Moses Robinson, Paul 
Spooner, Stephen R. Bradley. 1789-90, Nathaniel Chipman, Noah Smith, 
Samuel Knight. 1791-92-93, Samuel Knight, Elijah Paine, Isaac Tichenor. 
1794-95. Isaac Tichenor, Lott Hall, Enoch Woodbridge. 1796, Nathaniel 
Chipman, Lott Hall, Enoch Woodbridge. 1797, Israel Smith, Enoch Wood- 
bridge, Lott Hall. 1798-99, 1800, Enoch Woodbridge, Lott Hall, Noah Smith. 
1801-02, Jonathan Robinson, Royal Tyler, Stephen Jacob. 1803 to 1806 in- 
clusive, Jonathan Robinson, Royal Tyler, Theop. Herrington. 1807-08, Royal 
Tyler, Theop. Herrington, Jonas Galusha. I 809 to 1S12 inclusive, Royal Ty- 



Civil List, County Buildings, Societies, Etc. 141 

ler, Theop. Herrington, David Fay. 18 13-14, Nathaniel Chipman, Daniel 
Farrand, Jonathan H. Hubbard. 1815, Asa Aldis, Richard Skinner, James 
Fisk. 1 8 16, Richard Skinner, James Fisk, Wm. A. Palmer. 18 17 to 1820 
inclusive, Dudley Chase, Joel Doolittle, Wm. Brayton. 1821, C. P. Van Ness, 
Joel Doolittle, Wm. Brayton. 1822, C. P. Van Ness, Joel Doolittle, Chas. K. 
Williams. 1823, Richard Skinner, Chas. K. Williams, Asa Aikens. 1824, Rich- 
ard Skinner, Joel Doolittle, Asa Aikens. 1825-26, Richard Skinner, Samuel 
Prentiss, Titus Hutchinson, Stephen Royce, jr. 1827, Richard Skinner, Sam- 
uel Prentiss, Titus Hutchinson, Bates Turner. 1828, Richard Skinner, Samuel 
Prentiss, Titus Hutchinson, Bates Turner, Ephraim Paddock. 1829, Samuel 
Prentiss, Titus Hutchinson, Chas. K. Williams, Stephen Royce, jr., Ephraim 
Paddock. 1830, Titus Hutchinson, Chas. K. Williams, Stephen Royce, jr., 
Ephraim Paddock, John C. Thompson. 1831-32-33, Titus Hutchinson, Chas. 
K. Williams, Stephen Royce, jr., Nicholas Baylies, Samuel S. Phelps. 1834-35, 
Chas. K. Williams, Stephen Royce, Samuel S. Phelps, Jacob CoUamer, John 
Mattocks. 1836-37-38, Chas. K. Williams, Stephen Royce, Samuel S. Phelps, 
Jacob Collamer, Isaac F. Redfield. 1839-40-41, Chas. Williams, Stephen 
Royce, Jacob Collamer, Isaac F. Redfield, Milo L. Bennett. 1842, Chas. K. 
Williams, Stephen Royce, Isaac F. Redfield, Milo L. Bennett. 1843, Chas. K. 
Williams, Stephen Royce, Milo L. Bennett, Wm. Hebard. 1844, Chas. K. 
Williams. Stephen Royce, Isaac F. Redfield, Wm. Hebard. 1845, Chas. K. 
Williams, Stephen Royce, Milo L. Bennett, Wm. Hebard. 1846, Chas. Will- 
iams, Isaac F. Redfield, Milo L. Bennett, Daniel Kellogg. 1847-48, Stephen 
Royce, Milo L. Bennett, Hiland Hall, Charles Davis. 1849, Isaac F. Red- 
field, Milo L. Bennett, Hiland Hall, Luke P. Poland. 1850, Stephen Royce, 
Isaac F. Redfield, Hiland Hall, Luke P. Poland. 185 i, Stephen Royce, Isaac 
F. Redfield. Daniel Kellogg. 1852, Stephen Royce, Isaac F. Redfield, Pier- 
point Isham. 1853 to 1857 inclusive, Isaac F. Redfield, Pierpoint Isham, Milo 
L. Bennett. 1858, Isaac F. Redfield, Luke P. Poland, Asa O. Aldis, John 
Pierpoint. 1859, Isaac F. Redfield, Milo L. Bennett, Luke P. Poland, Asa O. 
Aldis. i860, Isaac F. Redfield, Luke P. Poland, Asa O. Aldis, James Barrett. 
1 86 1, Luke P. Poland, Asa O. Aldis, James Barrett, Loyal C. Kellogg. 1862- 
63, Luke P. Poland, Asa O. Aldis, John Pierpoint, Asahel Peck. 1864, Luke 
P. Poland, John Pierpoint, James Barrett, Asahel Peck. 1865, Luke P. Poland, 
Asa O. Aldis, John Pierpoint, Asahel Peck. 1866 to 1869 inclusive, John 
Pierpoint, Asahel Peck, Wm. C. Wilson, Benj. H. Steele. 1870, John Pier- 
point, Asahel Peck, Benj. H. Steele, Hoyt H. Wheeler. 1871, John Pierpoint, 
Asahel Peck, Homer E. Royce, Timothy P. Redfield. 1872 to 1874 inclusive, 
John Pierpoint, Asahel Peck, Homer E. Royce, Jonathan Ross. 1875, John 
Pierpoint, Homer E. Royce, Jonathan Ross, H. Henry Powers. 1876, John 
Pierpoint, James Barrett, Homer E. Royce, H. Henry Powers. 1877, John 
Pierpoint, James '^Barrett, Homer E. Royce, Timothy P. Redfield. 1878 to 



142 History of Rutland County. 

1880 inclusive, John Pierpoint, James Barrett, Homer E. Royce, H. Henry- 
Powers. 1 88 1, John Pierpoint, Homer E. Royce, T. P. Redfield, Russell S. 
Taft. 1S82, Homer E. Royce, T. P. Redfield, Russell S. Taft, John W. Rowell. 

1883, T. P. Redfield, H. Henry Powers, Russell S. Taft, John W. Rowell. 

1884, Homer E. Royce, Jonathan Ross, H. Henry Powers, Russell S. Taft. 

1885, Homer E. Royce, H. Henry Powers, John W. Rowell, Wm. H. Walker. 
Judges of the County Court. — 1781-82, Increase Moseley, Clarendon, chief 

judge; Joseph Bowker, Thomas Porter and Benjamin Whipple, assistants. 
1783, Increase Moseley, chief judge ; Joseph Bowker, Benjamin Whipple and 
William Ward, assistants. 1784-85, Increase Mosely, chief judge ; Benjamin 
Whipple, William Ward and Samuel Mattocks, assistants. 1786-87, Increase 
Moseley, chief Judge; William Ward and Samuel Mattocks, assistants. 1788^ 
Thomas Porter, chief judge ; William Ward and Samuel Mattocks, assistants. 
1789, Samuel Mattocks, chief judge; Ebenezer Marvin and Lemuel Chipman, 
assistants. 1790, Ebenezer Marvin, chief judge ; Lemuel Chipman and Sim- 
eon Smith, assistants. 1791 to 1794 inclusive, Ebenezer Marvin, chief judge; 
Lemuel Chipman and Samuel Williams, assistants. 1795, Samuel Williams, 
chief judge ; Samuel Mattocks and Abel Cooper, assistants. 1796, Samuel 
Williams, chief judge ; Abel Cooper and Ebenezer Wilson, assistants. 1797 
to 1800 inclusive, Samuel Williams, chief judge ; Ebenezer Wilson and Jonas 
Safford, assistants. 1801, Theophilus Herrington, chief judge; Ebenezer Wil- 
son and Jonas Safford, assistants. 1802-03, Theophilus Herrington, chief 
judge; Ebenezer Wilson and James Witherill, assistants. 1804-05, James 
Witherill, chief judge ; Ebenezer Wilson and Nathan B. Graham, assi-stants. 
1806, James Witherill, chief judge; Nathan B. Graham and Pliny Smith, as- 
sistants. 1807, Isaac Clark, chief judge ; Caleb Hendee and James Harring- 
ton, assistants. 1808, Isaac Clark, chief judge; Pliny Smith and James Har- 
rington, assistants. 1809 to 181 1 inclusive, Isaac Clark, chief Judge ; Pliny 
Smith and Amos Thompson, assistants. 1812, Pliny Smith, chief judge; 
Amos Thompson and John H. Andrus, assistants. 1813, Pliny Smith, chief 
judge; Amos Thompson and Thomas Hammond, assistants. 1814, Pliny 
Smith, chief judge; Amos Thompson and John H. Andrus, assistants. 1815, 
Pliny Smith, chief judge; Amos Thompson and Chauncy Smith, assistants. 
1816 to 1820 inclusive, Pliny Smith, chief judge; Amos Thompson and 
Thomas Hammond, assistants. 1821, Amos Thompson, chief judge; Thomas 
Hammond and Henry Hodges, assistants. 1822 to 1824 inclusive, Amos 
Thompson, chief judge; Henry Hodges and Joseph Warner, assistants. 1825, 
Moses Strong, chief judge ; Henry Hodges and John P. Colburne, assistants. 

(From the last date a justice of the Supreme Court is annually designated 
as chief judge of the Count}' Court within his judicial district.) 

Judges since 1825. — Titus Hutchinson, 1826. Richard Skinner, 1827-28. 
Bates Turner, 1829. Charles K. Williams, 1820 to 1847. Hiland Hall, 1847 



Civil List, County Buildings, Societies, Etc. 143 

to 1 85 I. Milo L. Bennett, in loco R. Pierpoint, 185 i, S. T. Jacob Collamer 
and Asahel Peck, z;/ /^ci? Robert Pierpoint, 185 1, S. T. Asahel Peck, 1852, 
A. T. Robert Pierpoint, 1852, S. T., to 1857. William C. Kittridge, 1857, 

A. T., 1858, S. T. Asa Owen Aldis, 1857-59. John Pierpoint, 1859-61. 
James Barrett, 1 86 1. Asahel Peck, 1S62. Loyal C. Kellogg, 1863. John 
Prout, 1868. Hoyt H. Wheeler, 1870. Walter C. Dunton, 1877. W. G. 
Veazey, 1880. Jonathan Ross, in loco 1880, S. T. W. G. Veazey, 1881, and 
at present in office. 

Assistant Judges since 1825. — 1826, Moses Strong, John P. Colburne. 
1S27 to 1832 inclusive, Henry Hodges, John P. Colburne. 1833, Henry 
Hodges, William C. Kittridge. 1834, Nathan T. Sprague, William C. Kitt- 
ridge. 1835 to 1838 inclusive, William C. Kittridge, N. T. Sprague. 1839, 
Zimri Howe, Nathan T. Sprague. 1 840 to 1S43 inclusive, Zimri Howe, Oba- 
dia Noble. 1844, Zimri Howe, Ezra June. 1845 to 1847 inclusive, Ezra 
June, Ambrose L. Brown. 1848, Gordon Newell, Isaac T. Wright. 1849, 
Gordon Newell, Elisha Allen. 1850, Isaac T. Wright, Elisha Allen. 1851, 
Elisha Allen, Samuel H. Kellogg. 1852, Samuel Kellogg, Barnes Frisbie. 
1853 to 1855 inclusive, Samuel Kellogg, Benjamin F. Langdon. 1856-57, 
Brazillai Davenport. 1858 to i860 inclusive, RoUin C. Hunter, Morris H. 
Cook. 1861-62, Alanson Allen, Eben Fisher. 1863, Alanson Allen, Barnes 
Frisbie. 1864 to 1867, Barnes F"risbie, Joel W. Ainsworth. 1868-69, Daniel 
Crofoot, John Crowley. 1870, James K. Hyde, Bradley Fish. 1871, Jerome 

B. Bromley, Bradley Fish. 1873-74, Isaac C. Wheaton, Hiel Hollister. 
1875-76, C. S. Rumsey, Jacob Edgerton. 1877-78, Zenas C. Ellis, Seneca 
M. Dorr. 1879 to 1882 inclusive, Martin C. Rice, Daniel W. Taylor. 1883, 
David E. Nicholson, Barnes Frisbie. 

States Attorneys. — Nathaniel Chipman, 178110 17S5. Darius Chipman, 
1785 to 1796. Abel Spencer, 1797 to 1802. Darius Chipman, 1803 to 1806. 
Nathan B. Graham, 1807 to 1810. Rollin C. Mallary, 1811 to 1813. Charles 
K. Williams, 1814-15. Rollin C. Mallary, 1816. Jonas Clark, i8i7to 1829. 
Selah H. Merrill, 1830 to 1835. Reuben R. Thrall, 1836. Solomon Foot, 
1837 to 1842. William C. Kittridge, 1843 to 1845. Edgar L. Ormsbee, 
1846-47. William C. Kittridge, I S48-49. Ezra June, 1850-5 i. Caleb Har- 
rington, 1852. Martin G. Everts, 1853-54. Edwin Edgerton, 1855-56. An- 
son A. Nicholson, 1857-58. William T. Nichols, 1859-60. John Prout, 
1861-62. David E. Nicholson, 1863-64. Jerome B. Bromley, 1865-66. 
Ebenezer Fisher, 1867-68. Horace G. Wood, 1869-70. Ebenezer J. Orms- 
bee, 1871 to 1873. Martin G. Everts, 1874-75. George M. Fuller, 1877. 
George E. Lawrence, 1879. John Howe, 1883. P. R. Kendall, 1885. 

Clerks of the County Court. — Jonathan Brace, appointed April, 1 78 1. 
Obadiah Noble, June, 1 78 1. Nathan Osgood, November. 17S9. Robert 
Temple, December, 1804. Robert Pierpoint, June, 1820. Fred W. Hopkins, 
March, 1839. Henry H. Smith, August, 1868, and now fills the office. 



144 



History of Rutland County. 



Judges and Registers of Probate - 



JUDGES. RESIIIENCE 

Joseph Bowker, Rutland, 

Elisha Clarke, Tinmouth, 

James Harrington, Clarendon, 

Joseph Randall, Wallingford, 

Caleb Hendee, Pittsford, 

William Harrington, Pittsford, 

Obadiah Noble, Tinmouth, 

R. Pierpoint, Rutland, 

A. L. Brown, Rutland, 

William Marsh, Shrewsbury, 

William Hall, Rutland, 

A. L. Brown, " 
William Hall, 
Harvey Button, 

Ambrose L. Brown, Rutland, 
Walter C. Dunton, 
Charles Colburn, 
Thomas C. Robbins, 

District of Fairliaven : — 



17811 

17851 



1810 I 



District of Rutland : ■ 

riME. REGISTERS. 

o 1784, 
o 1803, 
o 1805, 



E. Clark, jr., 
Nathan Osgood, 



[I, W. D. Smith, 



iSiS to : 

1836, 
1837 to 
1839, 
1840 to 



1835. 

1838, 

i 1847, 
I86I, 
1865, 

1877, 



William Ward, 
Simeon Smith, 
William Ward, 
C. Langdon, 
William Ward, 

Erastus Higley, 
Samuel Moulton, 
Erastus Higley, 
John Stanley, 
Joh . Mea ham, 
Almon Warner, 

Cyrenus M. Willard, 
J. B. Bromley, 



Poultney, 
Poultney, 
Prultney, 
Castleton, 
Poultney, 

Castleton, 
Castleton, 
Castleton, 
Poultney, 
Castleton, 
Poultney & 
Castleton, 



1793. 
17941 
17991 



. 1792, 
1798, 



i8i4to 1821, 



1831 to 1862, 
1862 to 1872, 



William Page, 
R. C. Royce, 
F. W. Hopkins, - 
F. W. Hopkins, 
H. B. Towslee, 
F. W. Hopkins, 
Henry Hall, 
James Brown, 
Henry H. Smith, 
Joel C. Baker, 
Thomas C. Robbins, 
Wayne Bailey, 



C. Langdon, 
John Brown, 
"Selah Gridley, 
lohn Stanley, 
William Ward, jr. 
C. Langdon, 
S. 11. Merrill, 
S. H. Merrill, 
Almon Warner, 
S. H. Merrill, 
B. F. Langdon, 
J. A. Warner, 
None from 
J. A. Warner, 
Gilbert H. Mann, 



1803 



1811 to 1814 

1815 to 1825 
1825 to 1832 
1833 to 1836 

1837 to 183S 
1839 

1840 to 1861 
1862 to 1866 



1872 

1877 
1885 



1797 



1793 
1796 1 
17991 

1 801 to 1803 
1803 to 1813 

1814 to 1815 

1815 to 1823 

1824 to 1829 
1830 to 1839 
1839 to 1845 

1846 to 1847 

1847 to 1850 
1851 to i860 

1861 to 1862 

1862 to 1865 
1866 to 1867 



Henry L. Clark, 

Sheriffs. — We appropriate the sketch of the sheriffs of the county from 
the paper prepared for the County Historical Society by J. C. Williams, on 
account of its biographical value, as well as the fact that it constitutes a com- 
plete list : — 

Abram Ives, of Wallingford, was the first sheriff, elected in 1781, and 
served four years, or until 1785. He was one of the early settlers of Walling- 
ford, and kept a hotel there for many years. He is said to have been a good 
citizen, and also kept a model hotel. He was a personal friend of Ethan Allen, 
at whose house the latter often visited. On account of some irregularity in 
selling the tract of land known as Mendon, and fearing prosecution, he re- 
signed his office and went back to Connecticut, where he died at an advanced 
age. 

Jonathan Bell, of Tinmouth, was the second sheriff, elected in 1785, and 
served to 1802, a period of seventeen years. He was a good sheriff and popu- 
lar with the people, and hence his re-election to the office for so many years. 
Tinmouth previous to 1785 was the county seat, where the jail and court-house 
were situated. He came to Tinmouth in 1778, and was for many years one 
of the prominent men of that town. 



Civil List, County Buildings, Societies, Etc. 145 

Arunah W. Plyde, of Castleton, was the third sheriff, elected in 1802, and 
served seven years, or until 1809. 

Eleazer Flagg, of Clarendon, succeeded Mr. Hyde. He served but three 
years, from 1809 to 1812. 

Ralf Paige, of Rutland, who was born in Hardvvick, Mass., August 21, 
1769, was next elected in 181 2, and served but one year. He died in Rut- 
land, August 20, 1857. 

Erastus Barker, of Tinmouth, was elected in 18 13, and served one year. 
He was again elected in 181 5, serving two years, and again in 1818, and served 
one year, making four years in all. He was a man well known and was promi- 
nent in town and county affairs, being highly respected as a citizen. 

Thomas Hooker, of Rutland, was the seventh sheriff, elected in 18 14, serv- 
ing one year only. 

William Fay, of Rutland, who was born in Hard wick, Mass., November 
12, 1780, was next elected in 18 17, and served one year. He died in Rut- 
land, July 31, 1840. 

Jonathan Dyke, of Rutland, but who was born in Chittenden, April 16, 
1786, succeeded Mr. Baker as sheriff in 1819, and served until 1S31, a period 
of twelve years. He was also a popular sheriff and possessed the confidence 
of the people. But three others held the office for a longer period than he 
did. He moved to Illinois in 1845. 

Jacob Edgerton, jr., was elected in 183 1 and served two years, or until 
1833. He was again elected in 1841, and served until December i, 1S61, a 
period of twenty years, making twenty-two years in all. 

John A. Conant, of Brandon, was elected in 1833, and served but two 
years. 

Ira Parsons, of Rutland, succeeded Mr. Conant as sheriff in 1835, and 
served until 1841, a period of six years. 

William M. Field, of Rutland, the sixteenth sheriff, was elected in 1861, 
and served until 1878, a period of seventeen years. 

D. P. Peabody, of Pittsford, the present incumbent, succeeded Mr. Field in 
1878, and has held the office since. 

Of the ex- sheriffs, as will be seen by the above list, but three are now liv- 
ing, viz. : Jacob Edgerton, John A. Conant, and William M. Field. Mr. Ed- 
gerton held the office of sheriff the longest, having served twenty-two years in 
all. He still resides at Rutland in his eighty-second year. Although advanced 
in age, he retains his mental vigor, and is quite active in business pursuits. He 
has been very prominent in town and county politics for many years, and is 
considered a safe counselor in matters of every-day life. Mr. Edgerton has 
been honored from time to time with various positions of trust and responsibil- 
ity, and retains in a remarkable degree the confidence of all who know him. 

John A. Conant still resides at Brandon, where he was born in 1800. He 



146 History of Rutland County. 

rarely discharged tlie duties of the office, and they were mostly entrusted to 
his deputies. Ira Parsons, as deputy, who succeeded Mr, Conant, took up his 
residence in Rutland, performing the duties there. Mr. Conant, although 
somewhat feeble in health, has been active in business affairs for many years, 
and is respected by all. 

William M. Field, as will be seen, served the next longest as sheriff, his re- 
election to the office for so many years being a compliment well bestowed on a 
faithful and efficient officer. He still resides at Rutland, and is now president 
of the Rutland Savings Bank. 

D. P. Peabody, the present incumbent, assumed the office of sheriff Decem- 
ber I, 1878, this being the eighth year of service. Mr. Peabody maintains 
dignity in the office, discharging its duties personally, so far as able, has a good 
corps of deputies, and is a worthy and efficient officer. It is hoped he will live 
to score a longer number of years as sheriff than any of his predecessors. 

State Senators of Rutland County. — Vermont had no Senate until 1836, 
since which time the following have held the office: 1836-37, Thomas 

D. Hammond, Zimri Howe and Robert Pierpoint. 1838-39, Wm. C. Kit- 
tridge, Obadiah Noble and Robert Pierpoint. 1841-42, Orson Clark, Ander- 
son G. Dana and Isaac Norton. 1842-43, Alanson Allen, Elisha Allen and 
Ebenezer N. Briggs. 1844-45, Ebenezer N. Briggs, Fred'k Button and Jo- 
seph H. Chittenden. 1846, Joseph H. Chittenden, John Fox and Geo. T. 
Hodges. 1847, Geo. T. Hodges, John Fox, Henry Stanley. 1848, Henry 
Stanley, John Fox and Ezra June. 1849, Ezra June, John Fox and John 
Crowley. 1850, John Crowley, Elisha Lapham and James K. Hyde. 185 i, 
Elisha Lapham, James K. Hyde and John Crowley. 1852, Harvey Shaw, 
Thomas V. Bogue and Amon Bailey. 1853, Amon Bailey, Thomas F. Bogue, 
and Harvey Shaw. 1854, Alanson Allen, Ira Button and Luther Daniels. 
185s, Alanson Allen, Ira Button and Luther Daniels. 1856, William M. Field, 
C. M. Millard and John L. Marsh. 1S57, John L. Marsh, Wm. M. Field and 
C. M. Millard. 1858-59, Martin G. Everts, Chauncey S. Rumsey and David 

E. Nicholson. 1860-61, Bradley Fish, Martin C. Rice, Daniel W. Taylor. 
1862-63, Horace Allen, Bradley Fish, John Jackson (1861-62). 1863-64, 
Nathaniel Fish, Merritt Clark and Wm. T. Nichols. 1865-66, Seneca M. Dorr, 
John Howe, jr. and Pitt W. H)'de. 

Continuing we quote from a paper prepared for the County Historical So- 
ciety on the Rutland county Senators, by Hon. Seneca M. Dorr, as follows, 
the extract being valuable for its biographic notes : — 

In 1867 the Senators elected from Rutland county were Ira C. Allen, of 
Fairhaven ; Capen Leonard, of Pittsford ; John Prput of Rutland. All had 
previously been members of the House. Mr. Allen was a marble dealer, fifty- 
one years of age. Mr. Leonard, a farmer, fifty- nine years of old, and John 
Prout, a lawyer, and forty-nine years of age. 

In I 868 the same Senators were elected. 



%- 




^^^^/cUlC^^ ^^ ^5e^-«^^^^2^ 



Civil List, County Buildings, Societies, Etc. 147 

In 1869, Merritt Clark of Poultney, George A. Merrill, of Rutland, Lucius 
Copeland, of Middletown, were elected Senrtors from our county. All these 
gentlemen had seen previous service in our Legislature. Mr. Merrill was a 
native of New Hampshire, was also Secretary of Civil and Military affairs in 
1860-61, and Mr. Clark and Mr. Copeland were both natives of Middletown. 

In 1870 Messrs. Merrill and Copeland were re-elected to the Senate, and 
Rodney C. Abell, of Westhaven, a veteran legislator, occupied the place of Sen- 
ator Clark. 

In 1872 our board of county Senators consisted of Nathan T. Sprague, of 
Brandon, Wheelock G. Veazey, of Rutland, L. Howard Kellogg, of Benson, 
Henry C Gleason, of Shrewsbury. Mr. Sprague was born in Mount Holly, 
Mr. Veazey in New Hampshire, Mr. Kellogg in Benson and Mr. Gleason in 
Shrewsbury. Mr. Gleason and Mr. Kellogg had both been members of the 
House, and Mr. Sprague was a member of the House subsequent to this in 1876 
and 1878. 

In 1874 our county was represented in the Senate by Redfield Proctor, of 
Rutland, Simeon Allen, of Fairhaven, Luther P. Howe, of Mount Tabor, Fay- 
ette Holmes, of Sudbury. Mr. Proctor was a native of Proctorsville, Mr. Allen 
of Fairhaven, Mr. Howe of Ludlow, and Mr. Holmes of Hubbardton. The 
first three had before their election as Senators been members of the House. 

In 1876 Ner P. Simons, of Rutland, Samuel Williams, of Castleton, Henry 
F. Lothrop, of Pittsford, Charles W. Brigham, of Pittsfield, were elected Sena- 
tors. Mr. Simons was born in Williamstown, November i, 1 83 I, and had not 
before been a member of the Legislature. Samuel Williams was born in Rut- 
land, January 8, 1837, was assistant clerk of the House in 1858 and 1859 
and secretary of civil and military affairs in 1861-65. Mr. Lothrop was born 
in Easton, Mass., March, 1820, and had represented his town of Pittsford in 
the Legislature. Mr. Brigham was born in Barnard, May 17, 1831, and had 
already had legislative experience in the House. 

In 1878 the Senators were Horace H. Dwyer, of Rutland, Ebenezer J. 
Ormsbee, of Brandon, Levi Rice, of Tinmouth, Charles A. Rann, of Poultney. 
Mr. Dyer was born in April, 1820, and had held no legislative office previous 
to his election as Senator. Mr. Ormsbee was born in Shoreham, June 8, 1834. 
He represented his town in the Legislature in 1872, and is a lawyer. Mr. Rice 
is a merchant and farmer, was born in 1826 and represented Tinmouth in the 
Legislature in 1853-54. Mr. Rann was born in Poultney, May 23, 1823. He 
is a farmer and produce dealer, and has represented his town in the Legisla- 
ture. 

Fhe senators for 1880 were: Walter C. Dunton, of Rutland; Royal D. 
King, of Benson; Orel Cook, of Mendon ; Eemmett R. Pember, of Wells. 
Mr. Dunton was born in Bristol, November 29, 1S30. He was for manyj-ears 
judge of probate of the Rutland District, and one of the judges of the Supreme 



History of Rutland County. 



Court. This is his first term as a legislator in our State. Mr. King was born 
in Benson, November 17, 1825, and was representative from Benson in 1852- 
54. Mr. Cock is a physician, lumber dealer and farmer. He was born in Rut- 
land, December 7, 1813, and has represented Mendon in the Legislature. Mr. 
Pender was born in Wells, September 21, 1846. 

Table of Se»ato)-s from Rutland County from 1867 to i?,^o, both inclusive. — 
Ira C. Allen, 1867 and '68; Simeon Allen, 1874; Rodney C. Abel, 1870; 
W. Brigham, 1876; Charles D. Childs, 1882; Merritt Clark, 1869; Charles S. 
Colburn, 1882; Lucius Copeland, 1869 and '70; Orel Cook, 1880; Walter C. 
Dunton, 1880 ; Horace H. Dyer, 1878 ; Henry F. Field, 1884; Henry C. Glea- 
son, 1872; Ansel L. Hill, 1884; Edwin Horton, 1884; Walter E. Howard, 
1882; Luther P. Howe, 1874; Fayette Holmes, 1874; Leonard Johnson, 18S4 ; 
Howard L. Kellogg, 1872; Royal D. King, 1880; Capen Leonard, 1867 and 
'68; Henry F. Lothrop, 1876; George A. Merrill, 1869 and '70; Ebenezer 
J. Ormsbee, 1878 ; John Prout, 1867 and '68 ; Redfield Proctor, 1874; Em- 
met R. Pember, 1880; Charles A. Rann, 1878; Levi Rice, 1878; Nathan T. 
Sprague, 1872; Ner P. Simons, 1876; Wheelock G. Veazey, 1872; Samuel 
Williams, 1876; Aldace F. Walker, 1882. 

PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 

Post- Office Building. — The present post-office building was begun in the 
opening of 1857, and finished in the winter of 1858-59. The cost of its con- 
struction in round numbers was $56,000, exclusive of the furniture. The su- 
pervising architect was the well-known government architect who built the 
Vermont State House, Ami B. Young; J. J. R. Randall, architect, of Rutland, 
was superintendent of construction and disbursing agent. The contractors 
were B. F. Colby and Mr. Bird. The building is fire-proof, constructed of 
Boston pressed brick, and iron, with the foundation and underpinning of Ver- 
mont granite. The roof was originally covered with galvanized iron, but this 
was replaced about ten years ago by a roof of copper. The basement was in- 
tended for a United States prison, and a number of cells were built for the ac- 
commodation of United States prisoners ; but only one person has ever been 
confined in any of them, and he only for a day and a night. 

The appropriation for the erection of this building was obtained through 
the instrumentality of the Hon. Solomon Foot, who at his df>ath bequeathed 
his splendid library to be kept in the building. It now fills the north end of 
the second story. 

Toivn Hall. — Before Rutland could boast of a hall of its own for the trans- 
action of public business, the town meetings were held alternatelj' in the east 
village and at West Rutland. The old court-house on Main street was the 
accustomed place of meeting in the former village. In the spring of 1S53 the 
town entered into a contract with Josiah Huntoon, under a part of the provis- 



Civil List, County Buildings, Societies, Etc. 149 

ions of which he began the erection of the first town hall. On the 6th of the 
following September Mr. Huntoon conveyed the land and appurtenances to 
the town by deed, in which was recited the condition that he was to occupy 
the basement and lower floor under a lease from the town. The building was 
then nearly completed. It stood on the south side of Washington street be- 
tween the building on the corner of that street and Main street on the east, and 
the building then occupied by Tuttle & Huntoons as a printing establish- 
ment. The second floor of this hall was devoted exclusively to town business, 
and the third floor was occupied by the Masonic order of Rutland, and also 
served the purpose, occasionally, of a lecture-room. It was unhappily de- 
stroyed by fire in the fall of 1868. The present town hall, its successor, was 
not erected until 1872, when it was completed under the supervision of John 
Cain. The lower floor is occupied by the village departments, containing the 
steam fire engine, municipal court-room, village records, clerk's office, village 
police and a lock-up. The upper story, which has a seating capacity for about 
one thousand eight hundred persons, is used for the transaction of town busi- 
ness, and for various public meetings and entertainments. 

Rittland High School. — The High School building was erected in 1852, 
but was rebuilt and enlarged in 1879, so that the village now has a school- 
building it may well be proud of It is beautifully located on a hill near the 
head of Center street, commanding a fine view, at the same time receiving the 
benefit of the healthful air of the higher land. It is a handsome, commodious 
structure, built of pressed brick, with stone trimmings, and well ventilated. It 
also contains a library of about 2,000 rare volumes, which are kept in a room 
nicely and appropriately furnished for that purpose. The school has also valu- 
able apparatus for astronomical and philosophical illustration, the whole being 
under the charge of the principal, Oscar Atwood, M. A. (See account of Rut- 
land schools in history of that town). 

The House of Correction. — Previous to the establishment of this institution 
and its erection in 1877-78, prisoners guilty of felony were confined at Wind- 
sor. The original idea of the institution was to make it a place of confinement 
for convicts sentenced to less than twenty years' imprisonment and jail prison- 
ers. In 1878 the Legislature so amended the laws that the original purpose 
of the institution as a "work- house" was altered to its present status as a 
" house of correction," and the criminal laws were changed so as to allow the 
court at its discretion to sentence persons convicted of an offense punishable 
by imprisonment in the State prison, to this house of correction. The institu- 
tion was built in pursuance of an act passed by the General Assembly in 1876. 
Rutland was selected as the site, upon condition that the county should con- 
tribute $20,000 towards its erection, thereby gaining its use as a county jail. 
The buildings are located just west of the village line, on the bank of East 
Creek, and cost about $60,000. 



150 History of Rutland County. 

The institution is divided into a north and south wing, or extension, with 
kitchen, guard-room and chapel between ; contains seventy-five cells, four of 
which are lined with boiler iron and furnished with solid iron doors. These 
are used for confining dangerous or refractory inmates, and is, indeed, about 
the only mode of punishment inflicted, the present management rel\ing more 
upon kindness than harsli measures to preserve discipline. When a prisoner 
enters the institution he is first obliged to make thoroughly clean his person, 
and then is dressed in a clean suit of clothes, and from that time until his re- 
lease habits of cleanliness and good manners are constantly enforced. All con- 
versation with fellow-prisoners is prohibited, and in health a full day's work 
required. One day in each week they are gathered together for religious in- 
struction and advice, and at all times the superintendent and keepers are ready 
by kind words and kindly admonitions to strengthen their resolutions to lead a 
better life when released. The female prisoners are kept well employed in 
making, mending and washing the prison bedding and clothing. 

During the summer of 1879 M. R. Brown entered upon the contract now 
in force for the labor of the prisoners, and L. G. Bagley is now his partner in 
the enterprise. (See " Marble Industries of Rutland.") This contract, for fin- 
ishing marble, was to continue for a term of five years from September I, 1879, 
and is terminable by either party upon six months' notice. It has since been 
extended five years longer. By its terms the contractor is to pay twenty- five 
cents a day for the labor of each prisoner employed up to August i, 1880, and 
thirty cents thereafter. I. M. Tripp was first appointed superintendent, but 
resigned his office before the close of the first month, and G. N. Eayres, the 
present superintendent, was appointed to fill the vacancy. To the ggod char- 
acter, judgment, prudent and careful management of Mr. Eayres much of the 
success of the institution is due. 

Court- House and Jail. — Immediately after the organization of the county 
Tinmouth, being the center of population and the home of the most prominent 
men of the county, was selected as the shire town. The court-house was 
neither more nor less than the inn of Solomon Bingham, located on the Tin- 
mouth Flats, one mile east of the present meeting-house, on the east side of the 
highway. It was built of logs, was one story in height, and about forty feet 
long. The family occupied one room and the courts were held in the bar- 
room, which sufficed to accommodate all the attendants upon the courts of 
those early days. The jury retired for consultation to the log barn almost ad- 
joining. In this house was also held the first county election more than one 
hundred years ago. The jail was also built of logs and stood about a mile 
north of the court-house, at the intersection of the roads from Tinmouth village 
with the F.ast Road, on the north side, on the line between Buler Waldo's farm 
and the Spafford farm, and about fifteen feet from the hotel. It is said that a 
blanket at first served as a door. 



Civil List, County Buildings, Societies, Etc. 151 

In 1784 Rutland was adopted as the shire town, and the courts thereafter 
held session, until 1792, in the old gambrel- roofed building still standing on 
West street in Rutland village. Externally it was then substantially as it is 
now. It had two rooms, one with a floor and the other with none. The west 
one was the court-room, having a floor and elevated seats on the north side for 
the judges, and benches for the jurors, witnesses and spectators. The east 
room had no floor and answered all the other purposes of a court-house, grand 
and petit jury- room, etc. The jail, which was built of logs, stood a few yards 
to the northwest of the court-house. 

It was in this building that the first United States District Court ever held 
in Vermont had its session, on the first Monday in May, 1791, with Nathaniel 
Chipman as judge and Frederick Hill as clerk. The State Legislature held 
sessions here in 1784 and 1786. In November, 1786, the anti- court mob en- 
joj'ed in this building their momentary triumph. 

In 1792 funds were raised by contribution, and a more stately court-house 
w^as erected in Main street, just above the old Franklin House. It was framed 
and stood facing the north. The Legislature, during its first session therein, 
on the 25th of October, 1792, passed "An act for the purpose of raising by 
lottery the sum of one hundred and sixty pounds lawful money, for the pur- 
pose of defraying the expense of building the new Court House in Rutland." 
In 1828 the citizens, deeming it necessary to rebuild the already time-worn 
structure, again raised funds by voluntary contribution, and contracted with 
George W. Daniels, who bricked up the outside eight inches thick, and sub-let 
the wood- work to W. W. Bailey. In 1844 the building was extended a dis- 
tance of forty-four feet. Thus the structure served all the purposes of the 
agents of the law in their work of redressing injuries, repressing crimes, and, 
generally, of distributing justice. It was destroyed by fire on the morning of 
April 3, 1868. The court, which was in session at the time of the fire, held 
the remainder of the term in the office of Judge Prout, the presiding judge ; 
one term it was held in the Christian Association rooms ; two terms in the old 
town hall, and the rest of the time, until the new court-house was ready for 
occupancy, in the United States court-room. The present court-house was 
begun in 1869, and first occupied in the first week of March, 1871. Its cost, 
including a small outlay for finishing touches superadded during the ten years 
after its first service, was $72,000. In the spring and autumn of 1885 an ad- 
ditional sum of about $5,500 was expended upon it for improvements. The 
rear entrance was opened, the clerk's office was enlarged, the court-room was 
made more comfortable and handsome, and new heating apparatus was added. 

Rutland County Historical Society. — This association was organized in the 
office of John Howe, of Castleton, on the i ith day of June, 1880, by the elec- 
tion of the following officers : Barnes Frisbie, of Poultney, president ; James 
Sanford, of Castleton, vice-president; John M. Currier, of Castleton, secre- 



History of Rutland County. 



tary ; and R. C. Abell, of Westhaven, treasurer. The object of the society, 
though clearly indicated by its title, is said in Article II of the Articles of 
Confederation to be "the collection and preservation of historical facts, more 
particularly such as relate to the county of Rutland." At a special meeting 
held in the vestry of the Congregational Church, in Castleton, on the 26th of 
October, 1880, the most important measure adopted was the appointment of a 
committee consisting of one person from each town in the county, to make ar- 
rangements for an appropriate celebration of the centennial of Rutland county. 
Following are the names of such committee: Martin C. Rice, Benson ; John 
A. Conant, Brandon ; J. B. Bromley, Castleton ; H. B. Spafiford, Clarendon ; 
John C. Williams, Danby ; A. N. Adams, Fairhaven ; Cyrus Jennings, Hub- 
bardton ; S. C. Peck, Ira ; O. Cook, Mendon ; O. Myrick, Middletown ; C. 
W. Brigham, Pittsfield ; Charles Colburn, Pittsford ; Marshall Brown, Pawlet ; 
Merritt Clark, Poultney ; L. W. Redington, Rutland; E. N. Fisher, Shrews- 
bury ; A. W. Hyde, Sudbury ; Levi Rice, Tinmouth ; J. E. Hitt, Wallingford ; 
Hiland Paul, Wells ; John Crowley, Mount Holly ; R. C. Abell, Westhaven ; 
Hiram Baird, Chittenden ; D. W. Taylor, Sherburne. 

The celebration was held on the 4th of March, 1881, and created a deep 
interest throughout the county. Many valuable historical papers were read, 
interesting letters were received from former residents, and the proceedings 
throughout were such as to create an abiding interest in the society and its 
work. 

The semi-annual meeting of 1881 was held January 13th of that year, in the 
vestry of the Congregational Church, in Castleton. Henry Clark delivered an 
address on historic monuments ; Rev. J. K. Williams read a sketch on Dr. 
Lorenzo Sheldon ; a number of interesting relics were exhibited ; the by-laws 
were somewhat changed, etc. 

At the annual meeting of 1881 (August lo), held in Adams's Hall, in Fair- 
haven, an interesting session was had ; papers were read, poems delivered, and 
President Barnes Frisbie delivered his annual address, which was ordered pub- 
lished, and the same officers were elected, with the addition of Joseph Jocelyn 
as the second vice-president. Thirteen new members were admitted. 

The annual and semi-annual meetings of the society have been regularly 
held, and a spirit of historical inquiry and interest awakened in the county 
which must result in much good. The accumulation of relics, historical books, 
papers, etc., is encouraging and the future of the society seems assured. 

The present officers are as follows : President, Hon. Barnes Frisbie ; Dr. 
John M. Currie, secretary; Henry Clark, and Dr. James Sanford, vice-presi- 
dents ; R. C. Abell, treasurer. 

Rutland County Agricultural Society. — This society was organized and 
held its first fair at Castleton in 1846. Its first officers were William L. Farn- 
ham, of Poultney, president; Orel Cook, Rutland, secretary; Zimri Howe, of 
Castleton, treasurer. 



Civil List, County Buildings, Societies, Etc. 153 

For many years the annual fairs were held, alternately, at Rutland and Cas- 
tleton. One year, 1852, the annual exhibition was held at Poultney, and is the 
only exception of its being held at other than the places named. In i860 the 
annual exhibitions were permanently located at Rutland. Some forty acres of 
land were purchased, situated about a mile south of the village, and buildings, 
sheds and race track erected, and the annual fairs have since been held thereon, 
the Vermont State Fair being held upon the grounds nine years. 

After the usual seasons of alternate prosperity and depression, this society 
is now upon a sound foundation, is well managed and is popular with the in- 
habitants of the county. It has about $800 in its treasury, with all debts paid. 

The following named gentlemen have held the office of president of the 
society since the organization : William L. Farnham, David Hall, Henry W. 
Lester, Joseph Sheldon, Bradley Fish, Alpha H. Post, Henry Hayward, A. D. 
Smith, Pitt W. Hyde, Lensey Rounds, jr., L. Howard Kellogg, Henry F. 
Lathrop, J. S. Benedict, Horace H. Dyer, Henry Clark, N. T. Sprague, H. D. 
Noble, Seneca Root. 

The following gentlemen have filled the office of secretary : Orel Cook, ten 
years; W. H. Smith, ten years; Henry Clark, fifteen years; Miner Hilliard, 
three years; Lensey Rounds, three years; C. C. Pierce, from 1887 to the 
present time. 

Following are the officers for 1885 : President, Seneca Root, Hubbardton ; 
vice-presidents, J. L. Billings, Rutland, and Redfield Proctor, Rutland ; secre- 
tary, C. C. Pierce, East Clarendon ; treasurer, H. H. Dyer, Rutland ; clerk, 
J. D. Green, Rutland ; auditors, T. C. Robbins, Rutland, D. P. Peabody, Rut- 
land, A. S. Cook, Brandon ; trustees, Seneca Root, chairman, L. G. Fish, Rut- 
land, E. F. Sadler, Rutland, E. D. Hinds, Pittsford, J. W. Cramton, Rutland ; 
finance committee, T. C. Robbins, Rutland, W. C. Landon, Rutland, G. H. 
Cheney, Rutland, A. D. Smith Clarendon, Lester Fish, Ira ; directors, Rollin 
Gleason, Benson, Fred H. Farrington, Brandon, James T. Freeman, Castleton, 
L. F. Croft, Clarendon, Edwin Horton, Chittenden, E. A. Smith, Danby, J. R. 
Sheldon, Fairhaven, S. W. St. John, Hubbardton, Lester Fish, Ira, F. B. 
Barrett, Middletown, L. P. Howe, Mount Tabor, William B. Hoskinson, Mount 
Holly, Alonzo Ormsby, Mendon, D. W. Bromley, Pawlet, C. W. Brigham, 
Pittsfield, A. C. Powers, Pittsford, F. W. Moseley, Poultney, Henry Hayward, 
Rutland, D. W. Taylor, Sherburne, D. K. Butterfield, Shrewsbury, James M. 
Ketchum, Sudbury, Bartlett Stafford, Tinmouth, Russel Lamb, Wells, Joel 
Todd, Wallingford, R. C. Abell, Westhaven ; general superintendent, Frank 
S. Hale. Rutland ; marshal, H. C. Hayward, Rutland ; assistants, Burt White, 
Clarendon, R. M. Spaulding, Rutland. 



History of Rutland County. 



CHAPTER XI. 

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 

The First Internal Improvements — Laying out of Roads — The Old Military Road and other High- 
ways — Old Stage Lines — Effects of the Early Lack of Rapid Transportation — The Champlain 
Canal and its Influence — Other Navigation Projects — The Railroad Era — The Rutland and White- 
hall Railroad and Bank — The First Railroad — The Vermont and Canada Railroad Company — The 
Central Vermont Railroad Company — Bennington and Rutland Railroad — The Delaware and Hudson 
Coal Company's Line — Rutland and Whitehall Railroad — Great Changes. 

THI£ inland situation of the State of Vermont and her distance from the 
great arteries of travel and trade as eventtially established, prevented the 
development of internal improvements and large commercial relations until a 
comparatively recent date. A large share of the attention of town officers in 
early days was devoted, as is always the case in new settlements, to the laying 
out of roads and their subsequent improvement; highways of some description 
are almost the first public necessity with the pioneer. One of the earliest of 
the roads passing through this county, and one which has always maintained 
paramount importance, is still known as the Old Military Road, running from 
Number Four (Charlestown, N. H.), to Crown Point, N. Y. This thoroughfare 
was opened chiefly as a military measure. Its course was, in brief, as described 
by another, from Charlestown (which is one hundred and eight miles from 
Boston), to Nott's Ferry, to Springfield, on through Wethersfield to Charles 
Button's Tavern on Mill River in Clarendon ; then si.x miles to Mead's Tavern 
in Rutland, on the west side of the creek ; thence six miles to Waters's Tavern, 
in Pittsford ; thence through " Brown's Camp," in Neshobe (now Brandon), 
tA'enty miles to Moor's Tavern in Shoreham, and thence on to Crown Point. 
It will be seen that it was the old and first north and south road across the 
country, on the west side of Otter Creek. This road was greatly improved 
in the year 1776, and a bridge was built across Otter Creek at Center Rutland. 

In the same year a new road was opened from Mount Independence, on 
Lake Champlain, through Hubbardton to Center Rutland. The latter was then 
a point of considerable importance ; one of three old forts in the county was sit- 
uated at the head of the falls (then called Mead's Falls, after Colonel James 
Mead, the pioneer of Rutland), and the place bade fair in those days to be the 
center of the future business of Rutland county. 

Other important early roads, opened before the beginning of the present 
century, were the north and south road from Clarendon through Rutland to 
Pittsford, a portion of which is the present main street in Rutland village; this 
highway was originally given a width of six rods; the Woodstock turnpike, 
from Rutland to Woodstock ; and the road from Rutland through Castleton 



Internal Improvements. 155 

and Fairha\'en to Whitehall ; the latter was for many years one of the most 
important highways in the State ; a portion of it now constitutes West street, 
in Rutland village. 

In the year 18 18, Thomas Hammond, of Pittsfield, Nathaniel Penniman, of 
Windsor, and Moses Strong, of Rutland, were made commissioners to lay out 
a road from the court-house in Windsor, through Reading, Plymouth and 
Shrewsbury to the court-house in Rutland ; and others rapidly followed as 
the demand for travel and business rendered them necessary. 

It is not uncommon to hear old residents speak with a sort of admiration of 
the days when the principal roads were traveled daily by stage coaches of the 
old Concord style, drawn by four or more horses ; a tinge of regret is some- 
times noticeable in their reminiscences, as if they would fain take another ride 
of that description. Neither was it a very slow or uncomfortable method of 
travel. Over the main thoroughfares which we have noticed those often heav- 
ily-laden vehicles bowled along from stage-house to stage-house, sweeping up 
to each stopping-place, whither the sound of the horn had preceded them, the 
drivers wielding the long whip with wonderful skill and manipulating the four- 
in-hand with the greatest dexterity. 

" Out of such enterprises," said George A. Merrill to the Rutland Histor- 
ical Society, " grew such men as Chester W. Chapin and Genery Twitchell, in 
Massachusetts, Robert Morse and B. P. Cheney, in New Hampshire, Mahlon 
Cottrill, Otis Bardwell, K. Foster Cooke, William M. Field, Joel Benson and 
Eleazer Wheelock, in Vermont, who, when their specialty was absorbed by 
railroad transit, took up analogous work under the new order of things, and be- 
came presidents of railroads, express companies, builders of cars and proprie- 
tors of palatial hotels, all with marked success. 

The same enterprise in planning, the same energy in pursuit, the same skill 
in execution, which inaugurated and formed the mammoth stage line between 
. the seaboard and our inland towns, was equally successful in constructing, 
equipping and managing railroads. 

In early days the old Franklin House in Rutland was a famous stage- house 
and gained a wide reputation for the excellent accommodations offered to trav- 
elers. Those old houses in various parts of the county will be further noticed 
in the subsequent town histories. Many of the men afterward prominent in 
business and railroads were identified with the early stage lines of the county. 
But, with many other ancient institutions which were thought good and 
rapid enough for the forefathers, the old stages were destined to wholly dis- 
appear before the march of improvement. 

In early times it was quite customary to inaugurate lotteries to raise funds 
for the prosecution of public enterprises. Thus we find that on the 27th of 
October, 1791, a lottery was authorized to raise three hundred pounds to build 
the road from Woodstock to Rutland; and in October, 1792, another scheme 



156 History of Rutland County. 

was inaugurated to raise six hundred pounds to aid in building a court-house 
in Rutland. Other lotteries were authorized to build roads from Castleton to 
Sudbury and one in Shrewsbury, all before 1800. These pernicious schemes- 
were not looked upon with the just aversion they now receive. About the be- 
ginning of the present century a healthy sentiment was born relative to lotteries 
and no new grants were made after 1804. 

Facilities for travel and transportation of products and goods into and out 
of Rutland county were restricted to teams for many years, which undoubtedly 
long exerted an influence against the growth of this region. The attractive 
hills and valleys of Western New York, reached easily by canal and railroad 
long befoi-e such means of transportation had touched Vermont to any consid- 
erable extent, and, later, the still more alluring fields farther west, drew many 
home-seekers, not only away from this northern region, but directly out of it. 
This state of affairs was deplored not only by individuals, but in the public 
newspapers. 

As railroad and canal builders the American people lead all nations. Pre- 
vious to the opening of the Champlain Canal in 1823, a large share of the sur- 
plus produce of this locality was transported eastward and northward and thus 
reached the seacoast markets ; but with the opening of that waterway all was 
changed in a day. The tide of commercial transportation and travel turned 
westward, finding its outlet in New York ; an impetus of great importance to 
Rutland county was also given to all kinds of industry, the effects of which are 
still apparent. The spectacle which had been witnessed on Lake Champlain 
in early times, of lumber, pot and pearl ashes and what other products could 
be spared for market, going northward to Quebec from the western part of 
Vermont, was no longer seen. Mercantile goods now came up from New York 
city and breadstuffs from the west. Lake Champlain became a commercial 
highway, whose blue waters were thickly dotted by white sails and puffing 
steamers from the opening of navigation to its close ; in 1838 Vermont alone 
had on the lake four steamboats, seventeen sloops, fifteen schooners and thirty- 
one canal boats. It seemed that a new era of commercial history had begun. 

Some efforts were made during this period to navigate the upper Connect- 
icut by steamboats, the first in 1827, when a boat called the Barnet ascended 
as far as'Bellows Falls ; this craft was afterward taken to Hartford and finally 
broken up. In 1829 a Mr. Blanchard built two steamboats, one of which was 
named for himself and was about the same size as the Barnet, and the other 
eighty feet long and drawing but twelve or fifteen inches of water. These boats 
made a few trips between Barnet and Bellows Falls and were then abandoned. 

The success and business importance of the Champlain Canal and the Erie 
Canal in New York State inaugurated a sort of canal fever throughout the 
country, the latter named State being especially affected by it, while Vermont 
nearly escaped. One enterprise of this nature, however, interested this county 



Internal Improvements. 157 

for a brief period. On the 17th of November, 1825, the " Otter Creek and 
Castleton River Canal Company " was incorporated, under the names of EHa- 
kim Johnson, Moseley Hall, Henry Hodges, Frederick Button, Moses Strong, 
Francis Slason, Thomas Hammond, Sturgis Penfield, John Conant, Henry Oli- 
ver, A. W. Broughton, Aaron Barrows, Harvey Deming, Ira Stewart, Jonathan 
Hagar, John Meacham, James Arms, Reuben Moulton, Elisha Parkhill, 
John P. Colburn and Jacob Davy ; several of these gentlemen were prominent 
citizens of Rutland county. The objects of this company were to " maintain a 
canal or railways, or improve the navigation of Castleton River and Otter 
Creek, by canals, railways, or other streams from the village of Middlebury to 
the village of Wallingford, from the creek in Rutland to the East Bay, or to 
the line of the State of New York, to intersect a canal such as may be branched 
out from the northern canal in the State of New York to the east line of the 
said State." This was a nick-looking enterprise, but it moved very little far- 
ther than the incorporation. Other navigation enterprises were suggested and 
discussed ; but the State of Vermont was destined to prosper without canals. 

Railroads. — Between the years 1830 and 1840 the people of this region 
began to believe that if they would enjoy the degree of prosperity allotted to 
other States, they must have railroads. This feeling culminated in vigorous 
efforts, which for several years promised to be successful, to build the Rutland 
and Whitehall Railroad. It was seen by such men as Moses M. Strong (who 
•was always foremost in enterprises of this nature), George T. Hodges, Solomon 
Foot, E. L. Ormsbee and many others of energy, that if this distance between 
tlie places named, over which Rutland county had to transport almost all of 
her products, goods and travel, could be spanned by a railroad, it must inevit- 
ably prove a prosperous line and give this county just the outlet it needed. 
The first notice of a public railroad meeting in the county called a gathering at 
" Beaman's Hotel" (the Franklin Hotel), April 13, 1836. The proceedings of 
this meeting are not extant. The charter for the road had been obtained, 
bearing date November 9, 183 i. The first charter was allowed to expire and 
in 1836 a new charter was granted. In November of the same year the Legis- 
lature passed the bill incorporating the Rutland and Whitehall Railroad Bank, 
with a capital of $250,000, the railroad company having an equal amount ; the 
incorporators being Moses Strong, George T. Hodges, A. L. Brown, E. L. 
Ormsbee, B. F. Langdon and C. W. Conant. The early consummation of the 
enterprise seemed certain. Stock subscription books were opened in Whitehall 
on the 15th and i6th of May, 1837, and subscriptions were liberal. The select- 
men of Rutland had already been instructed to petition the Legislature for an 
act authorizing the town to subscribe $20,000 for the road. The newspapers 
of the spring of 1827 called loudly on the citizens of the town to arouse them- 
selves in aid of the enterprise and pay no heed to the rumors of approaching 
" hard times." But the work languished, 'even after a large portion of the stock 



158 History of Rutland County. 

had been subscribed. A public meeting in aid of the road was held at the 
court-house in Rutland April 10, 1838, with William C. Kittridge in the chair. 
A committee, previously appointed, submitted a plan through the hands of E. 
L. Ormsbee. Another committee of three (Solomon Foot, Moses Strong and 
E. L. Ormsbee) was appointed to examine the condition of the charter and the 
enterprise, and report upon its advantages as an investment for capitalists. The 
subsequent report was long and e.xhaustive, giving estimates of cost, probable 
business, profits, etc. On the 19th of June in that year it was announced that 
one-fourth of the stock necessary to be taken in this town had been subscribed. 
But the enterprise was doomed, not through its lack of promise, or any cause 
outside of the oncoming financial crisis which paralyzed all similar enterprises. 
Rutland county was forced to wait a period for its railroad. 

In September, 1836, notice was published of a petition to be presented to 
the Legislature for an act incorporating the railroad from Bennington to the 
Canada line; the forerunner of the present Rutland and Bennington Railroad. 

On the 1st of November, 1843, a company was incorporated with the right 
and for the purpose of building a railroad " from some point on the eastern 
shore of Lake Champlain, thence up the valley of Onion River, and extending 
to a point on the Connecticut River most convenient to meet a railroad either 
from Concord, N. H., or Fitchburgh, Mass." Stock was subscribed for the 
enterprise, and in the spring of 1847 work upon the construction of the Ver- 
mont Central Railroad was commenced. Various financial diflSculties and con- 
troversies with other enterprises of a like kind followed, delaying its comple- 
tion until 1849, when, in November of that year, the first train of cars passed 
over it. Its final route was decided upon as folio a's : commencing at Windsor, 
it follows the Connecticut River to the mouth of White River, thence up that 
stream to the source of its third branch ; thence, reaching the summit in Rox- 
bury, and passing down the valley of Dog River, it enters the Winooski val- 
ley, near Montpelier ; and thence, continuing in the Winooski valley, near 
Montpelier; and thence continuing in the Winooski valley, its terminus is 
reached at Burlington, a distance of one hundred and seventeen miles. 

The Vermont and Canada Railroad Company was incorporated by the 
General Assembly, October 31, 1845, '"'d amended and altered, November 15, 
1847, giving a right to build a railroad " from some point in Highgate, on the 
Canada line, thence through the village of St. Albans, to some point or points 
in Chittenden county, most convenient for meeting, at the village of Burling- 
ton, a railroad to be built on the route described in the acts to incorporate the 
Champlain and Connecticut River Railroad Company, and the Vermont Cen- 
tral Railroad Company." The route decided upon was from Rouse's Point to 
Burlington, a distance of fifty-three miles, passing through the towns of Col- 
chester, Milton, Georgia, St. Albans, Swanton and Alburgh. Ground was 
broken for its construction early in September, 1848, in the northern part of 
Georgia, and completed and opened to the public early in I 85 I. 



Internal Improvements. 159 

By the subsequent organization of the present Central Vermont Railroad 
Company, however, these roads all came under its control, and are now ope- 
rated by the same, as different branches of the Central Vermont Railroad. 
The company has its principal office at St. Albans, with the following list of 
officers: J. Gregory Smith, president; J. R. Langdon, vice-president; J. W. 
Hobart, general manager ; J. M. Foss, general superintendent and master me- 
chanic ; E. A. Chittenden, superintendent of local freight traffic; and S. W. 
Cummings, general passenger agent. Directors, J. Gregory Smith, J. R. Lang- 
don, W. H. H. Bingham, B. P. Cheney, Ezra H. Baker, Joseph Hickson, E. 
C. Smith ; clerk, George Nichols ; treasurer, D. D. Ranlett. 

The above described lines of road have all exerted an influence upon the 
growth and prosperity of Rutland county, and form prominent parts of the 
present important system of the State. 

The railroad between Rutland and Bennington was built under an act of 
the Legislature, passed November 5, 1S45, incorporating the Western Ver- 
mont Railroad Company. The company was duly organized, and the first 
board of directors, elected February 28, 1850, was Myron Clark, president; 
Aaron R. Vail, vice-president ; Robert Pierpoint, Robinson Hall, Ira Cochran, 
Martin C. Deming, Asahel Hurd, Lemuel Bottum, Alanson P. Lyman. Sen- 
eca Smith was chosen clerk. The road was put into operation in 1852. The 
title of the original stockholders having been extinguislied by the foreclosure 
of the first mortgage, January i, 1857, the road passed into the possession of 
Shepherd Knapp and George Briggs, trustees, who leased it to the Troy and 
Boston Railroad Company, by which it was run until January 16, 1867. Mean- 
time, July 28, 1865, the bondholders organized a new corporation, called the 
Bennington and Rutland Railroad Company, of which the first board of direct- 
ors were Trenor W. Park, president ; Hiland Hall, Alanson P. Lyman, Charles 
E. Houghton, M. Carter Hall, Charles G. Lincoln, treasurer; Nathaniel B. 
Hall, Hugh Henry Baxter. George W. Harmon, clerk. 

Subsequently, on the 8th day of August, 1877, a new corporation, called 
the Bennington and Rutland Railway Company, was organized with the follow- 
ing named directors: — Abraham B. Gardner, president; Augustus Schell, 
Cornelius Vanderbilt, Benjamin R. Sears and Trenor W. Park. George W. 
Harmon was chosen clerk, and C. E. Houghton, treasurer. 

The road is now run by that company, and the following are its officers : 
S. H. Hall, president ; C. E. Houghton, treasurer ; directors (besides the 
above), D. M. Eowen, G. W. Harmon, F. C. White, the latter being super- 
intendent. 

The Rutland and Washington Railroad Company was organized under an 
act approved by the Legislature November 13, 1847. The first meeting was 
held at West Poultney on the 23d of February, 1848, at which the following 
board of directors was chosen : Merritt Clark, Marcus G. Langdon, Henrv 



i6o History of Rutland County. 

Stanley, Isaac W. Thompson, Horace Clark, Edgar L. Ormsbee and Milton 
Brown. Merritt Clark was subsequently elected president and Horace Clark, 
his brother, treasurer and superintendent. The board of directors continued 
nearly the same for two years, when the road was opened through to Salem, 
forming a continuous line from Rutland to Troy, N. Y. Four years from the 
day of organization Horace Clark, a pioneer and master-spirit in projecting and 
completing the road, died, on the 25th of February, 1852 ; the day appointed 
for celebrating its opening witnessed his funeral rites and burial. The road 
cost about one million of dollars and did not at first prove a financial success. 
Jay Gould became superintendent of the road January i, 1864, having his 
headquarters for the first two years at Rutland, boarding at the Bardwell 
House. In July of 1876 he negotiated the sale of the road to the D. & H. C. 
Compan}', by which it is still owned and operated as part of their extensive 
system. 

The Champlain and Connecticut River Railroad was incorporated Novem- 
ber I, 1843. The first meeting of stockholders was held at Rutland, May 6, 
1845, with Timothy Follett, of Burlington, chairman, and Ambrose L. Brown, 
of Rutland, clerk. Voted to open subscription for stock June 10, 1845. 

June 12, 1845, more than 2, GOO shares having been subscribed to the capi- 
tal stock, stockholders were notified to meet at the court-house in Rutland for 
choice of nine directors, which were chosen as follows: Timothy Follett, Sam- 
uel Barker, Ira Stewart, Charles Linsley, John A. Conant, Chester Granger, 
George T. Hodges, WilHam Henry and Henry N. Fullerton. Subsequently, 
January 14, 1846, the following were chosen directors in place of the old 
board : Timothy Follett, Samuel P. Strong, William Nash, Charles Linsley, 
John A. Conant, Chester Granger, George T. Hodges, Nathaniel Fullerton, 
William Henry, John Elliott, Horace Gray, Samuel Dana and Samuel Hen- 
shaw, with Timothy Follett president. 

The first blow towards its construction was struck during the month of 
February, 1847, in the town of Rockingham, near Bellows Falls. Two years 
and nine months sufficed to complete the road, and.it was opened through, 
December 18, 1849. 

The name of the road was changed to the Rutland and Burlington Railroad 
Company by an act of the Legislature, November 6, 1847. It was subse- 
quently changed to the Rutland Railroad Company. Hon. John B. Page was 
president at the time of his death, in October, 1885, and Joel M. Haven treas- 
urer. Thus, through various changes and vicissitudes, litigations and bank- 
ruptcy, the whole line, its buildings, etc., on the ist day of January, 1871, was 
leased for a period of twenty years to the Vermont Central Railroad Company. 

The Rutland and Whitehall Railroad, running from Castleton to Whitehall, 
twenty-four miles, was organized under an act approved by the Legislature 
November 13, 1847, and the road was finished in 1850. Soon after its com- 



Internal Improvements. 



pletion it was leased to the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad Company, by 
which it was operated until 1866, when it was leased to and operated under the 
administration of Jay Gould. On the 1st of July of the same year the Dela- 
ware and Hudson Canal Company took the road under a perpetual lease, by 
which it is now operated as a branch of their great system. 

A. W. and Pitt W. Hyde, William C. Kittridge and Alanson Albee were 
the chief promoters of this enterprise in its earlier days. The first officers of 
the company were A. W. Hyde, of Castleton, president ; Alanson Albee, of 
Fairhaven, vice-president; P. W. Hyde, clerk; and W. C. Kittridge, of Fair- 
haven, treasurer. These, with W. W. Cooley, now president of the corpora- 
tion, constituted the first board of directors. 

The era of railroads in Rutland county, which may be said to date from 
about 1850, worked immediate and tremendous changes; especially was this 
true of the town of Rutland and the village of the same name. It is doubtful 
if there is another town, possibly county, in the State that was changed so uni- 
versally from an inland agricultural district, without rapid communication with 
the outside world, to a great railroad center by the construction of the lines de- 
scribed, all of which were put in operation within a very short period. The 
village of Rutland, the commercial metropolis of the county, awakened from its 
lethargy at the top of the beautiful eminence crossed by Main street and strug- 
gled persistently and vigorously down the hillside towards the depot. Lands 
in that locality were purchased by far-seeing men, and the advance in prices 
of such real estate that was only a few years earlier an object of ridicule, on 
account of its low and marshy character, was something almost phenomenal 
for a long-settled region. Melzar Edson purchased about the year 1845 ^ ten 
acre tract of William Hall, lying to the eastward of Merchants Row to Wales 
street and bounded on the north by West street, for which he paid $1,750. 
In 1883 one building lot on the corner of Edson and West streets sold for 
$2,500. This tract now embraces the most thickly-settled and valuable por- 
tion of the village, some of it on Center street being worth $150 a foot. 

Evelyn Pierpoint owns a place, No. 19 West street, that was mortgaged in 
1810 for $1,350, and would not have sold for much more than the face of the 
security down to the time of railroad building; it is now valuable property. 
The lot, a part of which is occupied by the Congregational church. West and 
Court streets, was sold as late as 1835 by Robert Pierpoint for $550. Down 
to 1840 Shrewsbury, Clarendon and Castleton disputed the claim of Rutland 
to commercial importance. The grounds now occupied by the railroad build- 
ings, formerly a portion of the John Ruggles farm, were a cow pasture. A 
tract of land lying substantially between Center street and the railroad tracks 
and east of a portion of Merchants Row, bounded north by West street, and 
east by a line drawn directly by the " Tuttle Building " to the Bardwell House, 
was offered to Mr. Pierpoint about 1848 for $1,000. He vainly endeavored to 



i62 History of Rutland County. 

get other citizens to join with him in the purchase ; one of those men has since 
paid $3,000 for a small lot thereon, facing Merchants Row. These are only 
examples indicating the wonderful growth of the village of Rutland and the 
changes wrought by the railroads. The people of the county at large saw the 
dawn of rapidly advancing prosperity and their visions have been fully realized. 
We will close this chapter with an extract from an Albany newspaper of 
the year 1852 which states " that land in Rutland that was in market six years 
ago at $60 an acre is now held at $2,500 and $3,000. Eight years ago Ver- 
mont was without a railroad ; now Rutland is a central railroad point. No 
less than six lines enter Rutland, over which run forty-five trains a day." 



CHAPTER Xn. 

industries of RUTLAND COUNTY.i 

Effects of Industries on Civilization — Earliest Industries and Tools — Characteristics of the Pio- 
neers — Clearing of Forests — The Food Supply — Early Agriculture — Mistakes of Early Farmers — 
Introduction of Improved Farm Tools — Sheep Husbandry — Imported Stock and its Improvement — 
Prominent Breeders of the County — Cattle Raising — Horses and their Improvement — Early Manu- 
factures— Causes of Decline — Present Activity of Manufactures. 

"TT is quite within modern times, " says a late writer, "that by observation 
J^ and experience the knowledge has been acquired for a comprehensive and 
philosophical conception of the importance of industry as a necessary condition 
in the evolution of human society; " and it seems to the writer as though our 
Vermont historians had not to this time conceived the importance of industry 
in the line of progress. We rely upon education, upon science, and we should ; 
we readily see that the railroad, the telegraph, and the ten thousand inventions 
and improvements of modern times were the results of scientific inquiry; but 
we do not so readily see the effects of industry upon the growth of civilization, 
or that industry is as important a factor in the advancement of social, moral 
and intellectual as in material progress. There is an interdependence of all the 
sciences, of all the useful pursuits of life. Some men are more prominent than 
others, some attract the attention and huzzas of the multitude ; but the general 
results come from the combined action of the whole. With this brief indica- 
tion of principles, applicable, as we believe, to the subject in hand, we assert 
that with the light of the present age, the history of a county, state or nation 
would be incomplete without a full history of its industries. 

The history of the industries of Rutland county well brought out would 
open a field for study and philosophical research that could but result in gain 

1 Contributed to this work by the Hon. Barnes Frisbie. 



Industries of Rutland County. 163 

of knowledge. The writer is well aware that very few readers of history, in- 
dustrial or any other, have been accustomed to study history in the way indi- 
cated. They read history simply for the facts, without regard to cause and 
effect, and thereby get the mere data, and even that they are less likely to re- 
tain than if read and studied as it should be. But this in part has been the 
fault of the historian ; he has not invited his reader to the philosophy of 
history. 

A few words from Thompson's I'fnnoiit will forcibl)' bring out the begin- 
ning of the history of the industries of Rutland county and of Vermont as 
well : — 

" With scarcely any tools but an axe, the first settlers entered the forests, 
cleared off the timber from a small piece of ground, cut down trees to a suitable 
length and by the help of a few neighbors reared their log houses and covered 
them with bark. " 

History and tradition leave us in doubt of the general condition of things 
on the first settlement. The settlers brought little with them, and in the then 
state of civilization they seemed to have no alternative but to hew out for them- 
selves homes in the forest with their own hands. It is equally clear in a gen- 
eral view what our fathers and their descendants have accomplished in the in- 
dustries in the hundred and ten years, or thereabouts, since the first settlements 
were made. All intelligent persons would concede that the material progress 
of this county in the time has been without parallel in the historj' of the world. 
Now, we ought to know, or to learn, as we advance in this history, the causes 
of this marvelous growth, and perhaps the character of the men who made the 
first settlements of Vermont will furnish us with the most instructive lesson to 
be drawn from the entire subject. 

The first settlers of Vermont were immigrants from the older settled colonies 
of New England. They were not a roving band that came hither for the pur- 
pose of speculation, but were as firmly fixed in habits of steady industry, in the 
principles of democracy and social equality, in their adherence to Christianity 
and the cause of education, as any people that ever lived. They had been 
educated and rigidly disciplined to all this in Massachusetts and Connecticut, 
and, so armed, they were in spite of their poverty enabled in a few years to 
make " the wilderness bud and blossom as the rose, " and to give influence and 
direction to the industrial advance of the State and nation. 

Agriculture. — This has been the leading industry in Vermont since the 
State was settled ; it is, as said by another, an industry of primal necessity. 
The early settlers as they came into Vermont found it a wilderness. The entire 
lands were covered with a forest. They were obliged to provide themselves 
and families with food to sustain life. They did not bring food with them. 
They had no means to buy it, and there was none to buy within their reach. 
They must grow it; they could get it in no other way. Each secured a piece 



i64 History of Rutland County. 

of land, cut down trees and erected a log house for temporary shelter, and then 
cleared a patch, burned the timber and brush, planted corn and sowed wheat 
among the stumps, and for a plow used an axe. With this implement they 
chopped up the earth among the stumps and roots to get it in condition to receive 
the seed. This was the beginning of Rutland county agriculture, — of Ver- 
mont agriculture. The next year another patch was cut over, the material 
burned and the ground fitted for the seed in the same manner. Thus the work 
of clearing up the forest was pushed along as rapidly as these hardy pioneers 
could do it. They soon began to gather some stock around them, as they could 
keep it. The hard-wood stumps (beech and maple) soon rotted out, when 
those who had teams began to use the plow and harrow. The early settlers in 
a few years were in condition to raise a very considerable amount of wheat, rye, 
corn, potatoes and flax. They soon got a few sheep and of their wool and flax 
their wives and daughters made the clothing for their families. 

For the first half century after the settlement of Vermont there was very 
little improvement in agriculture ; in that period, there was, however, a constant 
increase of production in progress. More and more of the forests were cut 
away each returning year, and the newly cleared tracts hurried along into till- 
able lands as fast as practicable. The increase was in the acreage put into 
crops ; not in the amount of production per acre. The decayed wood and 
leaves had been accumulating for centuries ; vegetable mould kept the lands 
rich for many years thereafter, before any fertilization was required to put them 
in condition to bring forth ample crops. The lands produced abundantly for 
many years with indifierent plowing and no fertilization, except what nature 
provided. 

The old wooden plow was used in Vermont for more than half a century 
after the State was settled. It required more strength of team to draw it than 
the modern plow and it only " rooted up " from two to four inches of the sur- 
face of the ground. All farm implements were then rude and clumsy, and 
though the entire work of cultivation was simply the persistent use of physical 
strength, yet the lands on the average produced about twice what they do now. 
But continual cropping exhausted the elements of production to a great degree 
and the farmers found their soils deteriorated before they were aware of it. The 
very simple general proposition did not occur to them that to restore produc- 
tiveness of their soils they must restore the elements, the plant food, which they 
had lost by this continual cropping for half a century. The proposition, though 
simple, opens a field for thought, for mental labor in connection with agricul- 
ture which the farmers were not then accustomed to, and instead of applying 
the remedy, they allowed their lands to go on in the downward course of de- 
terioration. By-and-by the inventor and manufacturer awoke and produced a 
plow with a cast iron mould-board. This, and other improved farm implements, 
were the first distinctive improvement in connection with agriculture, at least 
in Vermont. The following is taken from the history of the town of Poultney : 



Industries of Rutland County. 165 

" During the first half century after the settlement there were few changes 
worthy of note in the mode of farming. The same farm implements first in use 
were kept in use with very little change or improvement until after 1820. The 
old wooden plow was manufactured every where a third-rate blacksmith could 
be found; almost any man could do the wood work. In 1825 a plow with a 
cast iron mould-board was offered for sale in Poultney for the first time. It had 
been introduced in New York and the Middle States some years previous to 
that time and was gradually working its way into use. The farmers of Poult- 
ney and vicinity for some time would not buy it ; they said it would break ; it 
might do on Western or Southern lands, where there were no stones, but it would 
never work among the rocks and stones of Vermont; they were sure of that. 
After a time one farmer after another, with much urging, was induced to try it, 
found they did not break it, and that it was much more effective in its work than 
the wooden plow, and before 1 840 the wooden plow was a thing of the past. 
Other new implements and improvements on old ones soon followed." 

The mowing-machine and horse-rake were later improvements. It is not 
over twenty-five years since the click of the mowing-machine was first heard 
in Rutland county, and hardly twenty years since it came into general use. 

The economy adhered to by the farmers of Vermont for the first half cen- 
tury or more of our history, led them to do all they could within themselves ; 
to raise all they needed for their own use upon their own farms, with sufficient 
to square up their accounts with the shoemaker, the blacksmith, the cooper, 
the carpenter, the merchant, and the doctor. Their lands then produced 
bountifully, but the markets for their produce hardly paid for transportation 
before the days of railroads, with butter at ten cents a pound, cheese at four or 
five cents, potatoes at ten or fifteen cents a bushel, and rye and corn at fifty 
cents. The first specialty in the history of farming in Rutland county seems 
to have been in 

Sheep Husbandry. — The scope of this work is such that only a general out- 
line of the history of this very important branch of farming 'industry can be 
given, but enough we hope to encourage the young farmers of Rutland county 
that it may be made profitable, if entered into with zeal and made a subject 
of scientific investigation and constant attention and study. 

The first sheep brought into Vermont were the " native breed," so called, 
or, as they were sometimes called, the " English sheep." They were a large, 
healthy, hardy sheep, with long, coarse wool, which supplied the material for 
clothing for that day and generation. The pride of the early settlers did not 
aspire to fine wool clothing. They did not then grow sheep or wool for the 
market. They were grown for their flesh to eat and their wool for clothing, 
and now and then a sheep or fleece of wool for a mechanic or tradesman. 

The importation of the Spanish Merino sheep led to the specialty to which 
allusion has been made in this branch of farm industry. When this breed of 



i66 History' of Rutland County. 

sheep was first imported from Spain to this country, or by whom, does not 
seem definitely settled. The late William Jarvis, of Wethersfield, Vermont, 
while American cousul to Portugal, made large importations of the Spanish 
Merino to this county in 1810 and 181 1. He was not, however, the only im- 
porter nor the first one. Colonel David Humphreys, of Connecticut, was an 
earlier importer of these sheep than Jarvis ; but the importations of the latter 
were largely to Vermont, and the well-known character of Mr. Jarvis, his 
knowledge of sheep and his enthusiasm in their improvement, enabled him to 
do more than anybody else in laying the foundation for the success of sheep 
husbandry in this State. 

The first importations were scattered about and did not attract general at- 
tention in Vermont much before 1825. The tariffs of 1824 and 1828, with the 
growing interest in the Spanish Merino, created an enthusiasm in Vermont in 
sheep husbandry, and this brought out as a specialty the business of wool 
growing in this State. A high tariff by Congress had the effect to raise the 
prices of wool. Manufactories went up on every stream capable of running 
machinery, as the readers of the various town histories herein will learn ; farm- 
ers went almost exclusively into the business of wool-growing. 

The inquiry may now properly be made as to the character of the sheep 
imported from Spain by Consul Jarvis and others. They were doubtless a 
pure Spanish Merino, they were not as large or as hardy as the old English 
sheep, but their wool was as fine and pure as any wool ever grown before or 
since. Their fleeces did not average over three and a half pounds, but the 
wool was of excellent quality what there was of it. 

Now we come to a very important part of the history of our sheep hus- 
bandry, viz., the improvement on the imported Spanish Merino sheep. Such 
improvement has been made that the descendants of this imported breed are 
a larger and more hardy sheep and produce an average fleece of nearly, if not 
quite, three times the weight of the original Spanish Merino. How has this 
improvement been effected ? Undoubtedly the Vermont climate is favorable 
to that end ; our Vermont grasses are well adapted to sheep, and ourV'ermont 
breeders have exhibited a measure of scientific study and acquired knowledge 
in their calling which may well challenge the attention of scientists in any de- 
partment of industry. In the last few years large sales have been made by 
the Vermont breeders of the Spanish Merino to parties living in nearly all of 
the States in the Union. Car loads have been sent to the Western States, Cal- 
ifornia and New Mexico. In fact the Vermont sheep are the standard in this 
country, and they are obtained for their excellence and to improve the flocks of 
sheep elsewhere — we were about to say everywhere. It should not be for- 
gotten that the Spanish Merino has been raised to his present high degree of 
excellence in Vermont by forty years of hard mental labor on the part of the 
pioneers in this work, among whom is our own J. A. Benedict, esq., of 



Industries of Rutland County. 167 

Castleton, in this county. Without disparagement to any among the leading 
sheep breeders of this county, past or present, may also be mentioned Joseph 
S. Griswold, of Benson ; D. W. Bump, of Brandon ; Albert Brasee, J. Ganson, 
and Chandler B. Gibbs, of Hubbardton ; Lyman W. Fish, and Harry Collins, 
of Ira; Johnson S. Benedict, Chauncej- L. Barber, and William F. Barber, of 
Castleton ; Volney Baird, Pittsfield ; Isaac H. Morgan, Poultney ; John H. 
Mead, Rutland. Many others have been and are engaged in this industry; 
but the above are those now prominentlj' following it. 

Cattle. — The cattle of the earl)' settlers were of the " native breed, " and 
not much attempt was made at improvement in Rutland county until after 
1830. The Durham was about the first breed introduced in Rutland county 
in the way of improvement. This, crossed with the native breed, did produce 
an improvement. It increased the size and beauty of the animals and they 
were more easily fattened ; but it was claimed that it did not improve the dairy, 
that the Durham cow was no better (if as good) for the dairy than the native 
cow. But the dair\' was hardly made a specialty in Vermont farming until 
after 1830. Butter and cheese were made from the first, but made to supply 
the families of those who made these articles, and to pay merchants' and me- 
chanics' bills — made for home consumption ; there was no market elsewhere 
which demanded these products to much extent. Even up to 1840 butter 
seldom brought over ten cents a pound, and cheese not over five or six cents. 
The dairy business in Rutland county began to increase gradually as early as 
1834. The mania for wool-growing, which had for a half dozen years existed 
among the farmers, began to subside, and as that was passing away more atten- 
tion was given to dairying. The farmers began to keep less of other stock and 
more of cows. Thus they went on from year to year until nearly every farmer 
kept either sheep or dairy entire, except his necessary team. 

Since the system of associated dairying was introduced, improvements in 
that department have been more rapid. It is a matter of history, we suppose, 
that Jesse Williams, of Rome, N. Y., was the originator of the American cheese 
factory system. This he originated in 1850, and for the purpose of relieving 
the members of his family from excessive labor in the management of his own 
dairy. But in this act of his he developed a principle of immense value to that 
interest, and the factory system is now quite generally adopted in this country 
wherever intelligent dairying is prosecuted. It may be regarded not only as a 
great labor-saving invention, but as developing a more scientific mode of man- 
ufacture, a better article, and a more successful business. 

Associated dairying began in Rutland county in the year 1864. It had 
then made considerable progress in the State of New York, and especially in 
the vicinity of Rome where it originated. Rollin C. Wickham established the 
first cheese factory in Rutland county, in his own town of Pawlet. The next 
one was established in Middletown and the building erected the same year 



1 68 History of Rutland County. 

(1864). Like most other improvements, the system had to undergo opposi- 
tion, but there is no opposition now. It is the true system of dairying, espe- 
cially of cheese-making. 

Several foreign breeds of cattle have been introduced in this country during 
the last twenty-five years, for their supposed excellences as dairy stock. Among 
them are the Ayrshires, the Jerseys and the Holsteins ; there are other breeds, 
but these are the leading varieties. Each of these is undoubtedly a fine dairy 
stock, and collectively they have doubtless done much to improve the dairy ca- 
pacity of this country. But the improvement has not been alone the result of 
breeding in this country. The scientific and skillful breeder of dairy stock, like 
the Merino sheep breeder, has improved upon nature ; he has improved upon 
the imported cow. Both our wool-growers and our dairymen have evinced 
remarkable skill in their callings, and may well stand beside the great inventors 
of modern times, as benefactors of their race. The yield of butter or cheese 
per cow has been largely increased in the last twenty or thirty years. The 
cow has been improved and the facilities for working up the milk so as to se- 
cure the entire yield and give a better quality of butter and cheese are now 
seemingly all that can be asked. 

If the same study and mental energy and persistence that have been de- 
voted to sheep raising and the dairy in these later years, had been given to our 
worn-out soils, the crop reports would show a much higher figure. But let us 
hope that we shall soon see two blades of grass where one now grows. 

Horses. — Vermont horses are also noted for their excellence. The Black 
Hawks and Morgans first gained their notoriety in Vermont, and the Hamble- 
tonians were first known as trotters in Rutland county. We have had our full 
share of " fast- horse " men, the most of whom have lost rather than gained 
money in their chosen occupation. The trotting horse is now the leading at- 
traction at every agricultural fair, and skill in breeding and training in these 
latter days sends him almost on the wings of the wind. The horse is a noble 
animal, and the larger class of horses in this county are now bred and grown 
for the purposes of utility. It satisfies the ambition of some to have a horse 
that will finish a mile stretch in one or two seconds less time than any other 
horse ; but it does not follow that the horse which comes out half his length 
ahead is the best horse in the service for which horses are made. Every man 
is to be commended for his love for a beautiful horse. A fine moving horse, 
a good carriage horse, a good " roader," a good work horse, a horse which has 
" bottom " and endurance — all these are valuable and may well be sought for 
in breeding and growing this animal. Great improvement has been made in 
this stock in the last forty years and a fine field exists for further improvement, 
without attempting to grow up a horse whose only merit is that he can trot a 
mile in one or two seconds less time than any other horse. 

Manufactures. — As our space is limited for the consideration of the subject 



Industries of Rutland County. 169 

of the industries of the county we can but briefly allude to mechanics and me- 
chanical work under the head of manufactures. 

One historian tells us that the axe and the plow were the most primitive of 
manufactures, another historian said, that " a woman with a pair of hand cards, 
the great and little wheel, one of which was turned by the hand, the other by 
the foot, made the outfit for the earliest manufacturing establishment in Ver- 
mont." It is perhaps of no great importance here to discuss the question 
whether axes and plows or the spinning-wheel, were first made. It is probable 
that in Vermont the axe was first used. The first thing done on the settlement 
was to cut down trees on a space large enough to build a log house upon, and 
the settlers could not have done that without axes. They did have an axe 
when they began, and that was about all they did have of farm implements ; 
the axe, if we may say so, was the pioneer's tool. The axe used by the early 
settlers was a rude implement with a helve, as Horace Greeley once said, " like 
a pudding-stick." The wooden plow, the first used in Vermont, we have al- 
ready described. The early settlers were obliged to have clothing as well as 
something to eat, and every household very soon furnished itself with the hand 
cards, the wheels named, and a loom, all of a rude character ; but with them 
(kept perhaps in the same room in which the family ate, drank and slept) the 
women of the household carded and spun wool and made the clothing for the 
family. 

Saw-mills were about the first mechanical establishments propelled by wa- 
ter power. The settlers occupied the log dwellings no longer than they were 
obliged to; but they could have no other until they could saw boards and 
planks from their plentiful timber. Quite early the saw-mills went up on all 
of the streams in Vermont, and the settlers began the erection of frame houses. 
Details of these early mills will be given in the histories of the various towns. 

About the year 1800, and in some towns a little before that time, carding 
machines and fulling mills were erected, which were then regarded as a great 
improvement. At the carding machine the wool could be transformed into 
rolls ready for the spinning-wheel and the flannel could be colored and fulled, 
ready to be made into coats, jackets and trovvsers for the men and boys. Soon 
there was another advance in this direction. There were woolen and cotton 
factories established, factories where, strange to say, they could take wool and 
run it through the various stages in the same mill and it would come out fin- 
ished cloth. The " spinning-jenny " was a wonderful machine and how one 
man could run a hundred spindles while the good housewife could run only 
one, was a marvel. Many of the early carding and cloth mills of this county 
will be noted in the subsequent town histories. 

About 1800 iron ore was discovered in Brandon, Chittenden and Tin- 
mouth, and great hope was inspired as to its becoming a source of future 
wealth. Furnaces were established in Brandon and Tinmouth at which stoves 
were made, which gradually superseded the old-fashioned fire-place. 



I70 History of Rutland County. 

The manufacture of pot and pearl ashes was a prominent and very early 
industry. The forests had to be cut down and burned, thus furnishing a source 
of manufacture without cost. The sale of the product supplied the settlers 
with a medium of exchange for household necessities which was of great value 
when money was very scarce. 

J no. Burnam, who is elsewhere mentioned in these pages, established a 
starch manufactor}' at Middletown, about the beginning of the century, using 
potatoes for his stock. It was quite a success ; but in common with very 
many other early manufacturing shops in the county, was carried off by the 
great flood of i8i i. 

Manufacturing was quite brisk in Rutland county for about a quarter of a 
century prior to 1830, which included woolen and cotton goods, stoves and 
iron ware, whisky and cider brandy. The manufactories of those goods in 
this county were quite numerous during that period, but diminished rapidly 
after 1830, a result due largely to the fact that the county lacked railroad trans- 
portation to distant markets and could not, therefore, compete with others who 
were more fortunately situated. 

The railroads have now revolutionized the industries of this count)', as they 
have wherever they have been built and sustained ; they became almost a nec- 
essary condition of our e.xistence. It is not quite forty years since the first 
railroad was put in operation in Vermont. " Cheap transportation " says a 
modern writer, "is the instrument and the test of civilized progress. In pro- 
portion as men can travel quickly, easily and cheaply, and can carry goods and 
material quickly, easily and cheaply, very nearly in that proportion do wealth, 
and intelligence, and happiness, that is, civilization, advance." 

As already indicated, it was not contemplated in this chapter to go mi- 
nutely into the histories of the industries which have been pursued in Rutland 
county; they will be more fully described in later pages of the work. We in- 
tended only to give a general outline, and at the same time to enforce as well 
as we could the importance of a knowledge of the subject. We do not under- 
estimate the history of men ; but even that cannot be understood without a 
knowledge of man's position and the influences which surround him. No one 
will deny that the advance in this region, in wealth, in prosperity, in all that 
pertains to civilization, in the last fifty years, has been without a parallel in 
history. 




% ^^'^^rlctcyi< 



Marble and Slate in Rutland County. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

marble and SL.\TE in RUTLAND COUNTV.l 

Geographical Po-sition — Geological .-Kge — Mountains — Lakes and Ponds — Geographical Older 
•of Rocks — Rock Formation — Ice Period and Glaciah Theory — Fossils — Minerals — Economic 
Minerals — Early Quarries and Mills — Analysis of Marbles— Comparative Strength of Marbles — 
Chronological List of Marble Quarries — Development of Machinery — Slate Quarries — Chronologi- 
c.-il List of Slate Quarries — Iron — Clays. 

THE geographical position of Rutland county begins on the east of the 
crest of the Green Mountain Range, and extends west to Lake Champlain 
and the State of New York, with Addison county on the north and Benning- 
ton county on the south ; it has an area of about one thousand square miles. 
It has an elevated surface, mountainous on the east, with numerous foot hills and 
scattered spurs of the Green Mountains — a member of the Apalachian system 
which extends from Quebec to Alabama. The soil is fertile and the surface is 
drained by Black, White, Ouechee and Pawlet Rivers, and Otter Creek. 

The geological age of the rock formation of Western Vermont has been the 
subject of much discussion and controversy by many eminent geologists, par- 
ticularly in relation to the shale, slate and limestone formations (including mar- 
ble), that are exposed along the valleys and lower portions of the district em- 
braced b)' Rutland and adjoining counties. The order of the various formations 
along Lake Champlain was determined as early as 1842, by Messrs. Hall, 
Emmons, Mather and Vannuxem, of the New York Geological Survey. These 
formations stand in the following order : Potsdam sandstone followed by cal- 
ciferous, Chazy and Trenton limestones, and the latter by Hudson River slate. 
But with regard to the age and order of the rock lying east of the Champlain 
Group, a diversity of opinions have been entertained b\- a number of promi- 
nent geologists. 

Professor Emmons, in his report of the New York survey, advanced his 
theory of the "Taconic System," claiming "that the range of mountains ex- 
tending from Addison county in Vermont south along the western borders of 
Massachusetts and Connecticut, and also the limestone and marble on the east 
of the range, belonged to a formation older than the Potsdam, but younger than 
the primitive rocks " ; but he was opposed in his views by Professors Hall and 
Mather, and Professor Rogers, of the Pennsylvania survey, who regarded the 
limestone and slate of the Taconic Range as belonging to the Champlain Group. 

The geological reports of Vermont seem to leave the age of these rocks 
undetermined. In 1866 Sir William Logan, of the geological survey of Can- 
ada, extended his " Quebec Group " so as to include the rocks of the Taconic 
Group of Emmons. 

1 This chapter was prepared for this work by George |. Wardwell, of Rutland. 



172 History of Rutland County. 

Of the various theories set up to fix the geological age of these rocks, it 
was left for an unpretentious Vermont citizen to furnish the means of deter- 
mining their geological horizon, viz.: Rev. Augustus Wing, a graduate of Am- 
herst College of the class of 1835. He was not a professional geologist, but 
became deeply interested in the science, and a large portion of the latter part 
of his life was spent in studying the rocks of Western Vermont, with a view to 
determining the age of the marble formation. " Knowing," says Professor 
Dana, " that fossils were the only sure criterion of geological age, he searched 
and found them, and thus reached safe conclusions." "... He accom- 
plished vastly more for the elucidation of the age of Vermont rocks than had 
been done by the Vermont geological survey." "... His discoveries 
shed light not on these rocks alone, but also on the general geology of New 
England and Eastern North America." 

Mr. Wing was preparing, at the request of Professor Dana, an account of 
his discoveries for the Jojirtial of Science, but died in January, 1876, before it 
was finished. After his death his note-book and papers relating to this subject 
were sent to Professor Dana, who compiled them for publication in the Jour- 
nal of Science, 1877, PP- 33^ and 405, vol. XUI. Mr. Wing's general conclu- 
sion has been established : It is " that the limestone formation of Western New 
England, containing the marble, is the same as the calciferous, Chazy and 
Trenton of the Champlain Group (lower Silurian), and that the slates of the 
Taconic Range overlie the limestone and belong to the Hudson River and 
Utica formations of the New York reports." ^ 

The perplexing question as to the geological age of the limestone, including 
marble and slate, lying east of the Taconic Range, has, through the discoveries 
of Mr. Wing, been answered, and the answer has been confirmed by the more 
recent discoveries of fossils by Professors Dana, Dwight and Whitefield. " The 
Taconic System of Emmons finally disappears from American geology, while 
the Quebec of Logan is reduced to a subordinate member of the limestone 
group, if its existence is to be recognized at all in Western New England." 

Mountains. — The following are the names of the prominent peaks of the 
Green Mountains within the limits of Rutland county, with their location and 
heights : — 

.Yawe. Situation. Height. 

Killington Peak Sherburne 4,380'" 

Pico Peak Sherburne and Mendon ... 3,917 

Shrewsbury Peak Mendon and Shrewsbury. . . 3,849 

White Rocks Wallingford 2,532 

Mount Tabor Mount Tabor 

1 For further particulars in relation to the age of the rocks of Western Vermont see a publicatiort 
of the Middlebury (Vt.) Historical Society entitled, The Marble Border of Neiv Englatid, 1885, (pp. 
12-16.) .■\lso, Dana's Manual of Geology, 3d ed. (pp. l6j, 212, 213 and 214.) .A.lso, Ceike's Text 
Book of Geology, i%%2, {f 'i?>('-) 

2 As determined by Major Cutts, of the United States Geodetic Survey. 



Marble and Slate in Rutland County. 173 

The following peaks of the Taconic Range ^ are within the county : — 

Xaiiu: Situation. Height. 

Bird Mountain Ira 

Herrick Mountain Ira 2,661 

Moose Horn Mountain .... Wells 

Danby Mountain Dauby 

Haystack Mountain Pawlet 

Lakes and Ponds. — 

Nanu: Situatum. Mila Long. Mtles indc. 

Austin Lake Poultney and Wells .. . 5.00 1.50 

Bombazine Lake . . . Castleton 8.00 2.50 

Fox Pond Wallingford 75 .50 

Hortensia Lake. . . . Hubbardton 3.00 .50 

Jackson's Pond ... . Mount Holly i.oo .50 

Little Pond Wells i.OO .50 

Spectacle Pond .... Wallingford 2.00 i.oo 

Tinmouth Pond. . . . Tinmouth 1.50 .50 

More detailed descriptions of these mountains, lakes and ponds have been 
given in Chapter II. 

Geographical. — Order of Rocks, West to East. — Commencing at the most 
westerly part of the county, a narrow strip of calciferous sandrock passes 
through the towns of Benson and Westhaven ; its general strike is north 10° 
east, dip, 3° to 15° east, forming the shore and eastern boundary of Lake 
Champlain. A very thin stratum of Trenton limestone lies parallel to the sand- 
rock on the east, with the same strike, with a dip at Westhaven of 5° east. 

Next in order eastward comes quite a thick belt of Hudson River shales 
and slates. At Westhaven post-office it has a strike of north 10° east; at 
north part of Benson, north and south, with a dip varying from 22° to 50° 
east. The slate grows thinner on the south where it enters New York State. 
The next neighbors on the east are strata of Trenton limestone of the 
Champlain Group, and talcoid schist. The limestone is thickest in the south 
part of Westhaven ; grows thinner as it goes northward, and finally disappears 
in the central part of Benson. The talcoid schist shows itself in the western 
part of F'airhaven, e.xtending northerly, passing through the easterly part of 
Westhaven and southeast corner of Benson and southwest corner of Hubbard- 
ton, entering Sudbury near the west line, and disappears in the northwest cor- 
ner of that town. 

The next rock in the eastward geographical order, are the slates belonging 
to the Hudson River and Utica Group. (Not the same as the Georgia slates 
of the northern part of the State, as given in the Geological Reports of Ver- 
mont.) This slate stratum constitutes one of the largest rock formations in the 

1 Notwithstanding the "Taconic System" of Emmons has become obsolete, the name of this 
range of mountains, given by him, will prob.ably be retained. 



174 History of Rutland County. 

county, and ranks second in economic value, not only of the county, but of the 
State. It enters this county from New York at the southwest corner, extend- 
ing north through the western part of Pawlet, Wells and Middletown, Poult- 
ney, Hubbardton, western part of Sudbury, where it grows thinner, entering^ 
Addison county like a wedge, and pinches out in the town of Cornwall. The 
direction of the stratum from the south is north from io° to 20° east, having a 
stratum dip of from 10° to 40° east. The cleavage dip is generally greater 
than that of the stratum and ranges from 10° to 40° east. The slate on the 
west side of Lake Bombazine has a cleavage dip conformable with that of the 
stratum, a circumstance of very rare occurrence in Western Vermont. (These 
slates will be further considered a little further on, under the head of econom- 
ical geolog}'.) 

The next stratum is talcoid schist. The territory occupied by this forma- 
tion consists of the eastern parts of Pawlet, Wells, Poultney, Castleton, Hub- 
bardton, and the western portions of Danby, Tinmouth, Clarendon, Rutland 
and Pittsford, and touching the southwest corner of Brandon, finally thinning 
to a point in the southeast corner of Sudbury. Shortly after entering the 
town of Rutland the formation, or stratum, becomes bifurcated and a thin arm 
extends northerly into the south part of Pittsford, where it disappears. 

The next formation is the " Eolian limestone" of the I'l'nnoiit Reports 
and belongs to the calciferous, Chazy and Trenton of the Champlain Group 
(Lower Silurian), as previously stated. This limestone is overlaid by the Hud- 
son River slate and talcoid schist. In the valleys nmch of the overlying 
rock strata has been removed, as well as many of the anticlinals of the lime- 
stone, exposing their upturned edges. This limestone stratum in Addison 
county, where it apparently begins, is of great thickness. Extending south- 
ward, it becomes divided in Cornwall by overlj'ing slate and schist, into two 
nearly parallel ridges; the western range continues south, passing the eastern 
parts of Shoreham and Orwell, and the western parts of Whiting, Sudburjr 
and Hubbardton, where it terminates. The western range enters Rutland 
county from the north, passing through Brandon to the south line of Pittsford^ 
where it becomes again divided into three thinner parallel ranges, by quartzite 
and overlying talcoid schist. The western branch terminates near the south 
line of Rutland ; the middle and eastern ranges continue southward through 
Rutland, Clarendon, Tinmouth, Wallingford and Danby, to the southern limit 
of the county. The strike is nearly north and south. The dip is very irregu- 
lar, ranging from 10° east up to 90°. Much of the limestone of Rutland 
county is highly metamor|3hic and includes the larger part of the celebrated 
marbles of Vermont, of which we shall speak more particular!)- in later 
pages. 

The formation east of tiie limestone consists in the main of quartz, schist 
and gneiss, the later having the greatest thickness of any strata within the 



Marble and Slate in Rutland County. 175 

county. The rock strata of the following towns consist almost entirely of 
quartzite and gneissoid formation, viz.: Mount Tabor, Mount Holly, eastern 
part of Wallingford, Shrewsbury, Mendon, Sherburne, Chittenden and Pitts- 
ford. Nearly all of these towns are situated within the range of the Green 
Mountains, and include Shrewsbury, Pico and Killington Peaks. The strike 
and dip of this formation varies greatly; the strike ranging from north 75° 
west, to north 70° east, and the dip ranging from 80° west, to 80° east. 

The series of rocks of the county have thus been presented in a cursory 
manner and without attempting to give a detailed account of the many modi- 
fied conditions and characteristics that are to be found in every one of the 
formations. Very few of the rocks contain fossils, on account of the meta- 
morphism to which they haye been subjected. It will be observed that all of 
the strata dip to the east at various angles, excepting the gneiss in some loca- 
tions. Many of the localities have been subjected to greater disturbance than 
others, as indicated by their folded and contorted conditions. 

Rock Formatioti. — The material of the limestone formation of Western 
Vermont was deposited in the shallow and quiet waters of the ancient Silurian 
sea, while it was protected by an eastern submerged barrier of archean isl- 
ands and reefs, allowing the water to become clear and favorable for the life 
and growth of crinoids, corals and moUusks. The period during which this 
and other deposits were made was a long one — sufficiently long to allow a 
deposit known as the Lower Silurian to form to the depth of 12,000 feet. 
While this enormous deposit was accumulating there were short periods of dis- 
turbance, causing the waters to become turbid and the bottom to become cov- 
ered with mud — a material constituting the slates of this period. 

Tliis long period of rest terminated over Western New England at the 
close of the Lower Silurian period — not suddenly, but by a slow and gradual 
change resulting from subterranean movements and causing an up-lift of the 
sea bottom and metamorphism. In the language of Dana : "During Paleozoic 
time, previous to the epoch of revolution, the Green Mountain area had been 
a region of accumulating limestone, sand-beds and mud-beds, and these lay in 
horizontal strata, making a series of thickness not less than twelve thousand 
feet, the actual amount not yet ascertained. Here the rock-making over the 
region ended. Next came the upturning, in which the same rocks were dis- 
placed, folded and crystallized, and the Green Mountain region made dry land." 

The agencies necessary to produce the metamorphism of the rock are prin- 
cipally heat at a low temperature, between 500 degrees and 1,200 degrees F., 
and water or moisture in varying quantities, operating through long periods 
of pressure. The average amount of moisture contained in uncrystalline rocks, 
as limestone, sandstone, shales, etc., exceeds three per cent. ; even at 2.67 per 
cent, the amount would correspond with two quarts per cubic foot of rock. 
This moisture existed in the sedimentary formation, being oceanic water car- 



176 History of Rutland County. 

rying many minerals, as sodium chloride (common salt), potassium, and mag- 
nesium chlorides, magnesium bromide and sulphate, calcium carbonate and 
sulphate, etc. It is through these agencies that crystalline rocks are produced. 
Sedimentary beds, that is, those made originally from mud, clay, etc., have 
been changed into slate, calcareous, talcose and mica schists, gneiss, and even 
granite, and limestone into statuary marble. 

In the case of statuary marble, the heat was sufficient to obliterate the fos- 
sils which the limestone formerly contained. The geological time of the dis- 
turbance that produced this change of character, or metamorphism, in the 
rocks, was at the close of the Lower and beginning of the Upper Silurian eras. 
" Some of the characteristics of the force engaged in the extensive up-lifts and 
flexures of the rocks, are as follows : The force acted at right angles to the 
course of the flexures. — The force acted from the direction of the ocean. — 
The force was slow in action and long continued. It is not known that this 
disturbance affected the Apalachians farther southward than New Jersey."^ 

The foregoing summary of the rock formation of Rutland county does not 
account for the diversified and uneven surface that e.xists to-day, consisting, as 
it does, of mountains, hills and deep valleys. We have evidence that during 
what is called the Champlain Period, a subsidence occurred, extending over 
the whole of North America. The ocean water covered a large portion of 
New England and extended up the St Lawrence River nearly to the great 
lakes, and over the Champlain and Hudson River valleys. The depth to 
which the land was submerged was not uniform. " This arm of the sea, nearly 
500 feet deep at Montreal and from 300 to 400 in Lake Champlain, was fre- 
quented by whales and seals; their remains have been found near Montreal, 
and a large portion of the skeleton of a whale was dug up on the borders of 
Lake Champlain, sixty feet above its level, or 150 feet above the ocean. Sea- 
border formation can be traced along the shores of Lake Champlain at varying 
heights up to 393 feet, containing marine shells to a height of 325. "^ 

Ice Period — Glacial Theory. — During what is termed the Glacial, or 
Drift Period, North America experienced an extremely cold climate, and an 
ice- cap extended from the northern regions as far south as the Ohio River, 
covering the whole of New England. This ice-cap was of immense thickness, 
and it is claimed by many eminent geologists that this sheet of ice moved in 
a southerly direction from the colder and higher latitudes of the North, to the 
lower and warmer climate of the South, carrying along with it masses of rock 
at its under surface, scratching and tearing away the surface over which it 
traveled, grinding off the tops of mountains, scoring out the valleys and trans- 
porting its wreck of rock material to lower and warmer latitudes, where it was 
left, forming terminal moraines of rounded boulders and coarse gravel ; and, 
as the climate became gradually warmer, the southern border of the ice-sheet 



Marble and Slate in Rutland County. 177 

gradually receded towards the North, thus distributing the broken, rounded 
and ground-up rock material over a large portion of the surface of the conti- 
nent, leaving grooves and scratches on the surface of the rocks, seemingly as 
evidence of the processes and agents employed ; which cut through and re- 
moved many of the rock strata to great depths, leaving the upturned edges of 
the lower formations exposed, as can be seen in many places in every valley 
of Rutland county. 

It is generally admitted that valleys are mainly due to erosion, the erosive 
agents being guided either by original depressions in the ground, or by geo- 
logical structure, or both. A fundamental law of erosion is, that harder rocks 
resist decay and denudation more, while softer rocks resist it less and are more 
easily abraded. That glacial action has had much to do with erosion is evi- 
dent ; but we are inclined to think that the Glacial Theory spreads itself out 
too thin (if the expression may be used) to account fully for all the erosive 
effects produced during the Ice Age. The old school of geologists credit the 
glaciers with a limited amount of erosive work ; also for the distribution of 
many boulders through the agency of icebergs, which are the offspring of gla- 
ciers ; but they restrict their erosive action to mountainous districts and adja- 
cent valleys, and hold that the large erratic boulders, as well as the smaller 
ones, which are found scattered over the surface of the country, were trans- 
ported by icebergs and field- ice to which they were attached from northern 
seas, at a time when the continent was submerged beneath the ocean. The 
entire Green Mountain range was covered, and Mount Washington to within 
500 feet of the top. Scratches and boulders have been found 6,000 feet above 
the sea, on the White Mountains. The writer has a boulder (quartzite) in 
his collection which he brought from the top of Mount Killington, a height 
of over 4,300 feet ; its longest and shortest circumferential measurements are 
thirty- one and twenty-seven inches, respectively. It surely must have been 
" up-hill work " for a glacier to have left it there ! 

At the time of the greatest submergence of the continent, enormous fields 
of ice, as well as icebergs, must have moved from northern latitudes, impelled 
by the wind and ocean currents. These would have passed over the whole of 
New England, except the higher parts of the White Mountains, but would 
have stranded on the tops of mountains of less height, and by the action of 
winds, ocean currents, as well as the constant ebb and flow of the tides, rising 
and falling, advancing and retreating, would have ground and scoured off" the 
mountain summits; and at each recurring warm season, corresponding to our 
summer, they would have become free and floated off into still warmer lati- 
tudes, carrying with them masses of rock, boulders large and small, and drop- 
ping them as the ice melted. This process must have continued for a long 
period, and as the land gradually emerged from the ocean, the summits of less 
elevated mountains would be subjected to similar degradation. As the moun- 



1/8 History of Rutland County. 

tain ranges appeared above the water, tlie direction of the currents, with the 
moving ice, would correspond with the trend of the ranges. Degradation and 
denudation would cease on the summits and increase on the flanks of the 
mountains, as more land was exposed to the action of the ice as it crowded 
through the valleys. At times the ice would become wedged between con- 
verging ridges, working great destruction to the rock surface exposed to its 
pressure. As the continent became more elevated, the climate became milder. 
The ice floes and icebergs existed only in more northern latitudes, while the 
broad valleys became arms of the sea and finally were reduced to the condi- 
tion of rivers, which have left a record of their existence in the kames or 
terraces along the course of our present river valleys and high above the 
beds of existing streams. (See chapter on the natural characteristics of this 
county.) 

Glaciers, icebergs and field ice in the earlier ages, and atmospheric action, 
as heat, cold, rains and river action in later times, are the agents that have 
been employed in cutting, carving and scouring away the rock and in distribu- 
ting the broken and ground-up debris over the earth, resulting in giving the 
surface of our county its present contour of architectural beauty. 

Fossils. — Fossils are rarely found in the rocks of the county. The high 
metamorphism to which they have been subjected has obliterated them. A 
few fossils have been found in the Tertiary formation at Brandon, consisting of 
twenty-three species of fruits and seeds associated with brown coal (lignite), 
kaolin, iron ocher (limnite) and manganese ore ; all of the above are found in 
the east part of the town at the foot of the Green Mountains. While con- 
structing the Rutland and Burlington Railroad, at Mount Holly, the tusks of a 
fossil elephant were found in a muck-bed near the summit at an elevation of 
1,415 above tide water. 

Minerals. — The following list of minerals, known to exist in Rutland county, 
is taken from the State Geological Reports, 1861 : — 

Brandon. — Limonite, limnite (yellow ocher), manganese, kaolin, lignite, 
plumbago, galena, copper pyrites, marble, fire clay, quartzite. 

Pittsford. — Limonite, limnite, manganese ores, plumbago, marble and fire 
brick clay, iron clay stones. 

Chittenden. — Manganese ores, iron ores, viz., limonite, magnetic and spec- 
ular, galena, iolite. 

Clarendon. — Calcareous tufa, marble. 

Danby. — Marble, stalactites, galena. 

Fairhaven. — Roofing slate, iron pyrites. 

Ludlow. — Serpentine, hornblende, talc, magnetic iron, chlorite. 

Mendon. — Magnetite, marble, copper and iron pyrites, galena and plum- 
bago. 

Mount Holly. — Asbestos, chlorite. 

Fouhney. — Roofing slate. 



Marble and Slate in Rutland County. 179 

Rutland. — Marble, limonite and specular iron ores, pipe and fire clays, 
iron clay stones. 

Sherburne. — Marble, limonite. 

Shrewsbury. — Magnetic iron, iron and copper pyrites, smoky and milky 
quartz. 

Sudbury. — Marble. 

Tinmouth. — Limonite, iron pyrites, marble. 

Wells. — Roofing slate. 

Pavvlet, — Roofing slate. 

Wallingford. — Limonite, manganese ores, marble. 

Castleton. — Roofing slate, jasper, manganese ores, chlorite. 

Eco7iomic Minerals. — Under this head I propose to speak of those minerals 
that are of commercial importance, upon which industries have been based, 
that are now or have been worked to a greater or less extent, in Rutland county. 
Of this class of minerals, marble is the most important. It consists of that 
part of the limestone (calcium carbonate) formation that has been subjected to 
the greatest degree of metamorphism, comprising a great variety of delicately 
tinted, clouded, veined and mottled marbles, some of which have a granular, 
or sacarhoidal texture, entirely freed of color, and known as statuary marble. 
All of these are susceptible of taking a high polish, many of them comparing 
favorably with, while some e.xcel in firmness of texture and beauty, the most 
celebrated marbles of antiquity. 

Although marble exists and is worked to some extent in many parts of this 
State, the bulk of the deposit lies in Rutland county, where the largest quarries 
and mills for producing and manufacturing marble in the world are to be found. 
Channeling machines and power drills driven by steam and in some instances 
by compressed air are used for quarrying. Nearly all of the quarries use 
steam derricks and cranes for handling the blocks. The mills are provided 
with the most improved kinds of machinery for sawing, sucli as automatic saw 
and sand feeds, rubbing beds, lathes for turning, polishing, etc. The extent to 
which the industry is carried on, amount of capital invested, together with the 
improvements in machinery for quarrying, sawing and finishing, have made 
Vermont one of the largest (if not the largest) marble producing district in 
the world. 

The earliest known reference to the existence of marble in Vermont is 
found in a letter from Nathaniel Chipman to General Philip Schuyler, of New 
York, alluding to a conversation had between them the winter before at Phila- 
delphia, and suggesting the resources of Vermont which might contribute to 
sustain a proposed canal to be built between the Hudson River and Lake 
Champlain. "There are also," he says, "in this part of the country nu- 
merous quarries of marble, some of them of superior quality. Machines may 
easily be erected for sawing it into slabs by water, and in that state it might 



History of Rutland County. 



become an important article of commerce." This letter is dated at Rutland, 
January 25, 1792. 

Early Quarries and Mills. — The first marble quarry opened in the county 
(of which I have an account) was in the town of Pittsford, by Jeremiah Shel- 
don, in 1795. In 1804 Eben W. Judd, of Middlebury, adopted the plan of the 
marble workers who lived in the time of Pliny, and sawed the first marble in 
the State with soft iron plates, using sand and water, a plan universally adopted 
throughout Vermont, and other places where marble is sawed. The first mill 
for sawing marble in the county was built on Stevens's Brook, by Epaphras Jones 
in 1 806 ; this mill was constructed on different principles from that of Judd's and 
proved a failure. Another mill was built soon after on Mill Brook, by Mr. 
Ballou. Considerable marble from the " Sheldon Quarry" was sawed at this 
mill. Mr. John A. Conant, one of the oldest citizens of Brandon, in a letter 
dated October lO, 1885, says: "I well remember that Judd, of Middlebury, 
ran a single plate saw for sawing marble that he brought from Pittsford about 
181 1." He further says that " Judd hauled marble from Pittsford to his works 
in Middlebury; and at one time boated marble down Otter Creek." 

The second marble quarry was opened in Pittsford by Eli Hudson in 1799, 
a few rods north of the " Pittsford Quarry Company's " opening. 

The third marble quarry was also opened in Pittsford, by Charles Lamb 
about the year 1806. 

True Blue Marble Co^npany (West Rutland, Whipple Hollow). — The first 
quarry opened on this property was about 1807. The farm was owned at 
that time by Timothy Brockway, and was worked in 18 12 by Ezra Meach. At 
different times the quarry was worked by the following parties : Gardiner and 
Obro Tripp, 1815, Timothy Brockway, David Hurlbert, Luther Perkins, Will- 
iam Dennison, and William Barnes, Erastus and Artemas Ward, 1845, and 
lastly by James Butler, in 1850, when work was suspended. The True Blue 
Marble Company was organized in 1884, and opened a new quarry near the 
old one. The marble is veined, mottled and shaded in the nicest and most 
beautiful true blue colorings, the texture is extremely fine and even-grained, 
and takes a fine polish. This company has a mill of eight gangs at the quarry 
with rubbing-bed, lathes for turning and polishing, etc., and the saws are sup- 
plied with sand and water by the " Ripley Automatic Sand Feed." The offi- 
cers of the company are : J. M. Cramton, president ; E. D. Keyes, treasurer ; 
George B. Royce, secretary. Slabs are to be seen in tiie cemeteries of Rut- 
land, West Rutland and Whipple Hollow, that were taken from this quarry, 
some of which were erected nearly seventy years ago, and are bright and 
sound to-day. The slabs were split out and reduced to an even thickness by 
hand, the marks of the chisel are plainly seen on the back side of all the slabs. 
One of these bears the name of Jacob Baltz with the date of 1789. 

The following sales and leases are from the Rutland town records, of the 



Marble and Slate in Rutland County. 



farm including the marble quarry now owned and worked by the True Blue 
Marble Company, showing it to be the oldest quarry as to date of opening 
in the town of Rutland, and the fourth oldest in the county, as far as now can 
be determined : — 

January 28, 1804, Eliphas Thrall sold to Timothy Brockway a farm of 150 
acres, on which was a marble quarry. 

May 7, 1807, the farm was owned and sold by Timothy Brockway to 
Alexander Donahue, " reserving to myself and my assigns the right of working 
a certain stone ledge thereon standing, and taking stone from the same until 
October i, 1809." 

Also during the year 1807 Alexander Donahue sold to David Hurlbert. 

" October 29, 1808, David Hurlbert leased to Luther Perkins for five years 
to work stone commonly called marble." 

April 22, 1 8 14, David Hurlbert leased the stone quarry to William Denni- 
son. 

April 5, 1828, William Dennison leased the stone quarry to Erastus Ward. 

April 18, 185 1, Erastus Ward leased the stone quarry to Samuel Butler. 

September 18, 1854, Samuel Butler leased to Edward G. Chatterton said 
quarry. 

April 8, 1879, the administrator of E. G. Chatterton sold the farm with- 
out reservation to Thomas Dwyer. 

1883, Thomas Dwyer sold the farm to John O'Rourke. 

1884, John O'Rourke sold to the True Blue Marble Company. 

Enos Clark, an older brother of the late General Jonas Clark, as early as 
1807 manufactured marble by hand at Middletown. (The latter Clark was 
apprenticed to the former.) Their stock was taken from a quarry on a part of 
the farm then owned by Elihu Andrews in the north part of Tinmouth ; the 
quarry property composed about two acres. In 18 10 the " Andrews Quarry," 
as it was then called, was owned by General Clark, who employed two work- 
men, David Mehurin and Marcus Stoddard, who afterward became joint owners. 
Stoddard subsequently built a small mill in Middletown and procured his stock 
from the "Andrews Quarry." The quarry property was subsequently sold to 
Moses Ambler, and again to Edward Woodruff, and is now the property of 
Isaac D. Stubbs. The quarry produced white and mottled (or blue and white) 
marble. Specimens may be found in Poultney, Castleton, Middletown and 
probably other places, which will compare favorably with any now found in the 
county. 

A business similar to that done at Middletown before the building of the 
Stoddard mill, was carried on at Chippen Hook in Clarendon by Peleg Sea- 
mans and William Deals. 

In 1 82 1 General Jonas Clark purchased thirty acres of land with a water 
power in the south part of Tinmouth, and also a quarry of several acres ad- 



i82 History of Rutland County. 

joining belonging to Elias Salsbury. On tiiis property he built the first mill 
for sawing marble in the county. The mill had two gangs and a single or 
trimming saw. The machinery was driven by an overshot wheel twenty-seven 
feet in diameter. Business was continued for nearly thirty years, but only to 
a limited extent during the last ten. During this period the marble was hauled 
by horses a distance of thirty miles to Comstock's and then taken by the Cham- 
plain and Erie Canals to Utica and Weed's Basin near Auburn, N. Y., where 
Mr. Clark carried on a business for several years. In 1854, after the death of 
Mr. Clark, the quarries and mill were both sold and probably little evidence of 
the e.xistence of the mill or of the work done at the quarries now exists. I 
think however there must be evidence of the dam, which was of stone. ^ 

Mr. Eaton and Mr. Rhodes built a mill about three miles south of Castle- 
ton in about 1830. General Clark and Eaton & Rhodes furnished the marble 
used in the Troy Conference Academy, which was erected in 1836 and 1837. 

In 1S30 Ezra Spencer and Moses Cowen opened a quarry in Pittsford a 
few rods west of the quarries now owned and worked by F. W. Smith. In 
1839 and 1840 William Hyatt worked the quarry and furnished the marble 
for the Conant House in Brandon. 

Justus Hyatt erected a mill for sawing marble in Brandon village in about 
1 83 I. This mill was situated on the south side of Brandon River just below 
the grist-mill. The marble for the Conant House was sawed at this mill. 

Mr. Artemas Ward, who is 80 years old. and who has always resided in 
Rutland, says that a small mill was built in West Rutland, west of the town 
farm, on a stream running through the Dennis Smith farm, nearly 75 years 
ago with a " pendulum gang." This mill existed as long ago as he can re- 
member, and he cannot say at what time it was built. He states that it was 
used but a little and was allowed to go to decay, and has disappeared. It ap- 
parantly must have been a failure, as the existence of a successful mill would 
have been retained in the memory of citizens a generation or so younger. 
The Hon. Merritt Clark says that the first mill for sawing marble built in the 
county was built by General Enos Clark in 1821, as previously stated. 

A marble-mill was built in Clarendon about one- half mile north of the springs, 
on the farm of Doctor Jonathan Shaw. This was called the " Taylor Mill," 
and was built about 1825, and used as late as 1845. Some of the earlier 
blocks quarried in Rutland were sawed in this mill. (See True Blue Marble 
Co.) Marble was also quarried near the mill. The building has been demol- 
ished and but few traces of it can be seen at the present time. 

Standard Marble Company (West Rutland, west side of valley). — This 
quarry was opened about 1830 by William F. Barnes and Francis Slason, who 
worked it but a short time. In 1883 the present company was incorporated 

1 The foregoing account of the marble industry in the towns of Clarendon, Tinmouth and Middle- 
town was kindly furnished by the Hon. Merritt Clark.— G. J. W. 



Marble and Slate in Rutland County. 183 

with the above title, with N. W. Batchelder as president, J. E. Manley, clerk 
and manager. The marble is hght clouded, light and dark blue. This com- 
pany are at present sawing their blocks in the American Marble Company's 
Mill near by. 

The Columbian Marble Company. — These quarries are situated about one 
and a half miles south of Sutherland Falls. The quarry was first opened by 
Moses P. Humphrey and Edgar L. Ormsbee, in 1839, who operated it but a 
short time, and not until 1868 was work resumed at the quarry, by the North 
Rutland Marble Company. Since 1871 the property has been worked by the 
Columbian Marble Company. Nearly all of the product of their quarry is 
worked up and finished at their mills situated in Rutland village, on the lines 
of the Central Vermont and Delaware and Hudson Railroads. The)' have a 
mill capacity of thirteen gangs of saws, rubbing-beds, lathes, etc. The marble 
produced by this company is generally of a dark color, with clouds of white to 
nearly black traversing it in wavy and undulating courses, giving a great 
variety of figures. It is largely used for cemetery purposes. 

Selden Quarry (Brandon). — The first quarry opened in Brandon was called 
the " Boston Quarry ; " it was opened in 1840 by James Davis, James Davis, 
jr., Thomas J. Bayley, and Hock Hill, all of Boston, who worked the quarry 
till 1842. Subsequently S. L. Goodell bought the property and opened an- 
other quarry in 1847 near the old one, which he worked until 1849, and then 
sold out to E. D. Selden, he worked it to 1864, when it passed into the hands 
of Messrs. Barlow, Goodell and Tilton, who worked it under the name of the 
"Brandon Statuary Marble Company" till 1880. In 1884 Mr. Goodell 
bought the property back again, and the quarry and mill is now worked by 
the " Wakefield Marble Company." Their mill has twelve gangs of saws, and 
one rubbing-bed. The marble produced by this company from their Brandon 
quarry is nearly all pure white and is the finest grained white marble quarried 
in the State, if not in the world ; for purity and fineness of te.xture it is equal 
to the celebrated Parian marble of the Greeks. 

S. L. Goodell opened a quarry near his residence in Brandon village in 
1881 ; it is now leased and worked by Thayer & Simonds. The marble is of 
fine texture, light clouded and mottled. The blocks are sawed at the Florence 
& Wakefield mills. 

In March, 1799, Edward Clifford bought of his brother Simeon forty-five 
acres of land in Pittsford and made the first improvements on it. Subsequently 
he and his son Nathan opened and worked a marble quarry on the farm. Tlie 
year in which the Cliffords opened their quarry is undetermined. They re- 
sided on the farm till 1845 when they moved to Parma, Michigan. The quarry 
property eventually passed into the hands of E. D. Selden, and in 1866 it was 
sold to the " Pittsford Quarry Co." who built a mill on the property and worked 
the quarry for a number of years. The property is now owned by F. W. 
Smith & Co. 



1 84 History of Rutland County. 

Ripley Sons. — The marble works of Ripley Sons, located at Center Rut- 
land, were established by the late W. Y. Ripley in 1844, and are now carried 
on by his sons, Generals W. Y. W. and E. H. Ripley. They have a large and 
finely equipped mill for sawing and polishing marble, doing contract work, ag- 
gregating over 300,000 feet of marble annually. The Ripley mil! contains 
twenty gangs of saws, and was the first mill that was fitted up with the " Au- 
tomatic Sand Feed," a device that insures a constant and uniform supply of 
sand and water, using the sand over and over again, as long as any grains of 
silica remain, at the same time taking in a supply of fresh sand ; as fast as the 
sand becomes useless it is washed away with the mud, by which means the 
saw plates are kept supplied with clean grains of sand, freed from all impuri- 
ties. The advantages of the " Automatic Sand Feed " over the old hand pro- 
cess are a great saving in sand ; a greater amount of sawing done in a given 
time, and truer sawed surfaces, and saving of labor. The attendance of one 
man is sufficient to care for twelve to fifteen gangs of saws. By the old method 
the labor of one man was required for every two gangs. 

The " Automatic Sand Feed " is the invention of William T. Ripley, son 
of General W. Y. W. Ripley. Young Ripley fitted up a crude apparatus in 
the mills of the firm and demonstrated the practicability of first washing, then 
elevating and distributing the sand, collecting the sand again, washing, elevat- 
ing and distributing as long as there remained any grains of sand fit for use. 
This experimental apparatus was kept in operation for a number of months, 
without any attendance, before he applied his invention to the saw gangs in 
the mill, when his expectation of its usefulness was fully demonstrated. Mr. 
Ripley's application for a patent was made April 26, 1883, and his patent 
therefor was granted October 2, 1883. The Ripley " Automatic Sand Feed " 
has been adopted by many first-class mills in the country, and is destined to go 
into general use. 

Sheldon & Sons (West Rutland). — Sheldon & Slason opened their first 
quarry in 1 844, on the property now owned and worked by Sheldon & Sons ; 
the latter are at the present time working three large quarries, one of which is 
250 feet deep. The ,firm is composed of Messrs. Charles Sheldon, John A., 
Charles H. and W. R. Sheldon, successors to Sheldon & Slason. Their three 
finishing mills are very extensive, being fitted with sixty-six gangs of saws, 
three rubbing-beds and a full complement of marble-working machinery. The 
power for working the quarrying machinery (channelers and drills) is furnished 
by one of Rand's double compressors of three hundred horse power. Their 
quarries produce nearly all the grades of white, blue and dark marbles. Con- 
tracts were filled by Sheldon & Slason a few years since for 245,000 lettered 
headstones for soldiers' graves in national cemeteries, the contract amounting 
to $864,000. The lettering was done with the " sand blast.'' The famous 
" Gold Room " in the treasury building of Washington is paneled with blue 




(f. ^^^. 



Marble and Slate in Rutland County. 185 

marble furnished by the Sheldons. They also produced the marble for the 
old Parker House and for the Rogers Building in Boston. Sheldon & Sons 
employ nearly four hundred men. 

The Rutlatid Marble Company s (West Rutland) quarries, opened by Wm. 
F. Barnes in 1845. The marble produced in these quarries ranges from pure 
white to dark blue. (See Vermont Marble Company.) 

Gilson &■ Woodfiii (West Rutland). — These quarries were opened by Jo- 
seph Adams and Ira C. Allen, 1845, and have been worked by the present 
owners since 1868, Mr. Woodfin entering the firm in 1874. They are located 
in the heart of the West Rutland marble belt. The product of their quarrries 
is the same as that of Sheldon & Sons. They operate a mill of twenty-one 
gangs of saws and employ about one hundred men. The firm is composed of 
E. P. Gilson and John N. Woodfin. 

Mauley s Quarry (Sudbury), opened by Albert Manley and Hock Hill in 
1847. 

Lippitt Quarry (Wallingford), opened by Joseph F. Lippitt in 1848. It is 
now owned and worked by W. W. Kelley, who has a mill of eight gangs. 

Sliermau & Gleason Quarry (West Rutland). — This quarry was opened in 
1850 by Smith Sherman and Moses Jackman, and produces white, clouded and 
blue marble, now worked by the " Dorset Marble Company." 

The Sutherland Falls Marble Quarries, situated in the north part of the 
town of Rutland, were opened in 1852 by the North River Mining Company. 
This marble is harder and not so fine as the marbles of West Rutland. The 
products of these quarries are light and dark clouded and mottled ; it takes a 
good polish, while some of the beds resemble very closely the Italian clouded. 

These quarries have been worked by several companies since they were 
opened, viz. : Sutherland Falls Marble Company of New York, who were the 
first to adopt the use of channeling machines ; Sutherland Falls Marble Com- 
pany of Massachusetts, and Sutherland Falls Marble Company of Vermont. 
The quarries have been greatly enlarged within a few years past, and since 
1880 have been worked by the Vermont Marble Company, a company formed 
by a consolidation of the Sutherland Falls Marble Company and Rutland Mar- 
ble Company, making it the largest marble company in the world. (See Ver- 
mont Marble Company.) 

Dorset Marble Company. — Successors to the " Manhattan Marble Compa- 
ny " of West Rutland quarries. — Opened by Ferrand Parker, C. M. Willard and 
others. The old quarry has been abandoned, and this company is working 
the Sherman & Jackson Quarry. They have a steam mill at West Rutland of 
eight gangs ; also mill of twelve gangs and quarries at Dorset — a mill of twelve 
gangs at Hydeville. The>' are thus working thirty-two gangs in their three 
mills. The stock produced by this company at West Rutland is light clouded. 
Officers of the company are ; E.J. Hawley, president; J. H. Goulding, treasu- 
rer; J. B. Hollister, manager. 



1 86 History of Rutland County. 



The Sudbury Marble Quarry, situated at the northwest part of the town, 
2\ miles from the Addison Railroad, was opened by the " North River Mining 
and Quarrying Company" in 1852, who operated but a short time. E. A. 
Morse and others worked the quarry during the summer of 1882. The te.xt- 
ure of this marble is fine as porcelain and takes a beautiful polish. The white 
layer is eleven feet thick, and there are also layers of light and dark blue, each 
eleven feet thick. It is not worked at the present time. 

//«// (2^/rtrrj/ (Wallingford), opened by Gen. Robinson Hall about 1855. 
It was worked a short time by Frank Post, who stopped work in 1859. It 
then remained idle till 1867, when it was \Vorked for two years by Loren 
Waldo, and has not been worked since. 

Adair Quarry (South Wallingford). — Opened by J. Adair and Brother in 
1857. The quarry was worked by the old " hand process." They also had a 
mill of six gangs and employed at one time in the quarry, mill, and dressing 
marble, seventy- five men. This quarry furnished some of the marble for the 
custom house, Charleston, S. C. The quarry was worked one season b)- Lo- 
ren Waldo, about 1867, and has remained idle since. 

Otter Creek Marble Company (Rutland), incorporated November 9, 1865. 
This company never commenced operations and sold its charter to a company 
who opened a quarry in Brandon called the " Dean Quarry " in 1865. 

Flint Brothers' Quarry (Rutland Valley).— Opened by William F. Barnes 
in 1865 ; now known as the " Albion Marble Quarry," and owned and oper- 
ated by Wyman Flint and J. G. Flint. This company have a steam mill at the 
quarry of twelve gangs. The mill is not running at present, as the product of 
the quarry has been sold for a term of years to the " Center Rutland Marble 
Co." The stock of this quarry is light and dark veined. 

Pittsford Quarry Company, incorporated October 31, 1865. Corporators, 
William Fox Richardson, Francis Garderner, N. H. Hand, Thomas A. Dexter, 
H. L. Hazelton, George W. Messenger, R. S. Wade. This company built a 
mill, operated a few years and suspended work about 1872 or 'jt,. The mill 
is not used at present. The property is now owned by F. W. Smith & Com- 
pany, who opened in 1880 a new quarry situated some sixty rods south of the 
old quarry and mill, where a fine quality of light clouded marble is produced. 
The stock is sawed at their mill at Belden Falls. 

Brandon Marble Company, incorporated November 8, 1865. Corporators, 
John Howe, jr., E. N. Briggs, E. J. Bliss, Stephen L. Goodell, Cyrus N. Bish- 
op, Alson N. Clark, Bradley Bartow, F. A. Fisher, A. E. Tilton. (Sec Selden 
Quarry.) 

Atneriean Marble Company (West Rutland, west side of \'alley). — Opened 
by Horace and Norman Clark, Solomon Giddings aud J. E. Post in 1866. 
This company built a mill of four gangs at the quarry. Work was suspended 
in 1872 and remained idle until 1883, when it was resumed by William Man- 



Marble and Slate in Rutland County. 187 

son and others, who operated for one season. The mill is run by the West 
Rutland Marble Co., whose quarry is near by. The quarry is idle. 

Albion Quarry (located at Double Road Crossing, Rutland Valle)-), Flint 
Brothers, Proprietors. — These quarries were opened in 1866 by William F. 
Barnes. The marble is the light clouded variety. They have a steam mill 
ot" twelve gangs, one rubbing-bed and lathes. The quarries and mills give 
employment to fifty men. Near the above quarry is one owned by the Ver- 
mont Marble Company, opened by Clement & Sons, but not worked at the 
present time. 

Dean Quarry (Brandon), opened in 1866. The Dean Quarry Company 
was composed of C. J. Joy, Henry Currier, Henry B. Richmond and George 
W. Dean, all of Boston. This company built a mill of six gangs, a dozen or 
more tenements, and operated a number of years. Owing to financial embar- 
rassments, work was suspended in 1876 and the property has remained idle 
since. This quarry is situated about two miles south of Brandon village. 

West Rutland Marble Co. — Morgan Quarry, formerly "Green Mountain 
Quarry " (West Rutland, west side of valley). Opened by David Morgan in 
1866. The stock is white and light clouded. They have a mill at the quarry 
of four gangs ; also a mill at Salem, N. Y., of eight gangs. E. M. Nelson, 
president, William W. Clark, treasurer. This company work their quarry 
nights, using the electric arc lights, one in the yard and two in the quarry. 
They are the first and only parties using the electric light in the marble dis- 
trict for night work. 

The Austin Quarry (Brandon), about \ mile west of the village of Brandon, 
opened by S. L. Goodell about 1866. This quarry has produced some very 
fine white and clouded stock ; was worked for a while by S. L. Goodell. The 
property is now owned by T. Thayer and George E. Royce, and is not worked 
at the present time. 

Central Vermont Marble Company (Pittsford). — Opened by H. F. Lothrup, 
Germond and Lafayette Hendee, and Oliver Ames, in 1869. These parties 
operated about one year, and then leased the property to George E. Hall, who 
organized the above company in 1870. This company worked the quarry 
about three years when work was suspended and it has remained idle since. 

Boardman Hill Quarry (Rutland), opened by William Hyatt & E. C. 
Wheaton in 1869, who operated part of one season. The quarry remained 
idle until 1884, when work was resumed by W. W. Kimball. 

Florence and Wakefield Marble Company (Pittsford), successors to Black & 
White Marble Company, who were successors to Wheaton Marble Company, 
worked by the Wheaton Company from 1870 to 1873, and then remained idle 
till 1882, when it was again idle till 1884. In 1885 it passed into the hands of 

the Florence & Wakefield Marble Company. , president ; A. Y. Walker, 

treasurer; S. L. Goodell, superintendent. 



History of Rutland County. 



Trojan Marble Company (Brandon), opened in 1871 by the Trojan Mar- 
ble Company. E. A. Billings, president ; John T. Christie, treasurer. Have 
a mill of four gangs; the old opening is not worked, a new one is opened a 
few rods north and worked by J. P. Upham, and others. The stock is light 
clouded. 

Center Rut/and Marble Co. (Rutland Valley). — This company's quarry was- 
opened by B. P. Baker in 1880. Some very handsome light and dark- clouded 
marble has been taken from this quarry. The marble proving unsound, work 
has been suspended on the quarry, and their steam mill of twelve gangs is sup- 
plied with blocks from the "Albion Marble Quarry," as previously stated. 

Bakers Quarry (Rutland Valley), opened by B. P. Baker, in 1880.— The 
quarry has produced some very handsome light and dark clouded stock. They 
have a steam mill of twelve gangs, rubbing-bed, lathes, etc. The quarry is 
not worked at present, the mill being supplied with stock from the Albion 
quarry. 

Bardillo Marble Ci'w/rtwj' (Brandon). — Opened by Robert L. Darrah, Rob- 
ert Fisher, William L. Strong, S. D. Hatch in 1882. This company have a 
twelve gang mill and quarry about three miles southwest of Brandon village. 

The Esperanza Marble Quarry (Whipple Hollow, on the Harvey Reynold's 
farm). — Opened in 1882 by W. H. Johnson and John B. Reynolds. The mar- 
ble produced from this quarry consists of light and dark veined and mottled 
blue. When finished it presents a great variety of figure and takes a beautiful 
polish. This company have a mill at the quarry of eight gangs. 

North Pittsford Marble Company, composed of F. W. Smith, C. H. Bliss- 
and others. Quarry opened by the above in 1883 ; worked for two seasons, 
at present is idle. 

Empire Mai'ble Company (near Sutherland Falls) opened a quarry about 
1870, which remained idle until 1884 ; Phelps, Fuller, Collins and others worked 
it a part of one season ; at present it is idle. 

Reed's Quarry (Pittsford), opened in 1884 by John P. Reed. Stock, dark 
blue ; now abandoned. 

Peck's Quarry (Brandon), located about 2-5- miles southwest of village. L. 
B. Peck and others have opened a quarry and worked it this season — 1885. 

The ]'alido Marble Quarry. — Opened in 1884 by W. H. Johnson and John 
B. Reynolds on the Gorham farm, a few rods from the " Esperanza." This^ 
company have a mill at Fairhaven of twelve gangs. The quality of the mar- 
ble is the same as that of the Esperanza Quarry. 

Vermont Marble Company. — The Vermont Marble Company, of which ex- 
Governor Redfield Proctor is president, quarry and finish more marble than 
any other one firm or company in the world. They now own and operate the 
following quarries at or near Proctor (Sutherland Falls): The "Old Quarry," 
so called, opened fifty years ago; the Adams Quarry, opened 1865; the 



Marble and Slate in Rutland County. 189 

Mountain Dark, a mile and a half north, opened 1884. At West Rutland the 
•company owns nearly one-half mile in length on the marble belt, on which 
there are seven quarries opened; three or four of them are -operated at a time 
by turns, as they can be worked to the best advantage. Their mill capacity at 
Proctor consists of seventy-four gangs of saws, with rubbing-beds, lathes and 
polishing machinery, all driven by the water power of Otter Creek, which has 
a fall at this place of 1 20 feet. At Center Rutland they have two mills which 
are also driven by the water of Otter Creek. The one on the north side of 
the creek has twelve gangs, and the one on the south side twenty-six gangs. 
At West Rutland the company has a steam mill with sixteen gangs, making a 
total of 128 gangs of saws, with rubbing-beds, turning and polishing lathes, etc. 
The mills and quarries of this company give employment to nearly 700 men. 

Besides the quarries mentioned in this long list there were formerly three 
quarries on Danby Mountain, which are not now worked ; one was the " Grif- 
fith" quarry ; one owned by Thomas Symington and one by W. W. Kelly. At 
one period, some twenty-five years ago, there were six mills here, with twenty- 
six gangs of the old style. In Tinmouth there was a quarry on lands now 
owned by David Edmunds, and in Clarendon one on lands of Abner Colvin, 
both of which have been long abandoned. 

Analysis of Some of the Marbles of Rutland County. — White marble from 
Hyde's Quarry, Rutland, made by D. Olmstead, jr., in 1846: — 

Carbonate of lime 97-73 

Alumina and iron 59 

Salica and mica I.6S 

100.00 

By the same : — Greenish marble, from the same quarry : — 

Carbonate of lime 85.45 

Silica and mica 14-55 

100.00 

By the same : — Statuary marble, Brandon : — 

Carbonate of lime 99.51 

Carbonate of magnesia trace 

Silica, etc 1.29 

Water and loss 20 



The following analysis was made for the proprietors of the Sudbury 
Marble Company by Dr. A. A. Hayes, of Boston : — 

Carbonate of lime 99-7° 

Carbonate of magnesia and peroxide of iron 1 30 

100.00 

The coloring which is seen in most of the marbles of the county is due to 
■carbonaceous matter derived from crinoids, corals and mollusks. 

1 It appears from the above analysis that the marble of Rutland county is an unusally pure lime- 
.stone. 



igo History of Rutland County. 

Carbonate of lime when free from impurities consists of carbonic acid 44.00, 
lime 56.00= 100.00. 

When pure carbonate of lime is roasted or burned in a kiln the carbonic 
acid is set free, effecting a loss of 44.00 per cent, in weight, leaving 56.00 of 
quick lime, (calcium). 

Comparative Strength. — The following table of the compressive strength 
of marble from quarries of Rutland county is taken from Vol. X of the Tenth 
Census U. S. : — 

Compressiz'C Strntgth per 
Locality. Square huh. By w/iom Tested. 

West Rutland 11.000 to 12.500 United States Gove 

Pittsford n.250 to 18.750 II. \. Cutting. 

Sutherland Falls 10.243 to 11.250 F. E. Kidder. 

do. 12.250 to 20.000 United States Governr 

Foreign marble for comparison : — 

Carrara, Italy 9.723 to 12.600 



Common Italian 11.250 to 13.062 Q. A. Gillmore. 

White Italian 21-778 Rennie. 

In the working of the first marble quarries of the country, powder was the 
principal agent used for detaching blocks from the ledges, although the " plug 
and feather " was used where loose beds were found. The use of powder was 
soon found to be very destructive in its effects, not only to the masses detached, 
but also to the ledge itself, which would be badly shivered and cut up with 
powder stains, making it impossible to quarry sound blocks of any desired size 
or shape. Therefore it became necessary to dispense with the use of powder 
in quarrying, its use being restricted to uncovering or removing the surface 
rock, during the first stages of developing new quarries. As a substitute for 
powder the system of cutting " channels " around masses of marble and rais- 
ing such masses from their beds with the " plug and feather," was adopted. 
These channels were cut by hand, and although it was a slow and expensive 
method, it effected a great saving of stock and enabled proprietors of quarries 
to produce blocks of large size and good shape, without injury to the block or 
quarry. Hand channeling continued down to 1863, when a machine was in- 
vented and constructed by George J. Wardwell, of Rutland, driven by steam, 
for cutting channels, which successfully performed the work of twenty-five men 
per day. This machine was a single machine, cutting a single channel only. 
It was soon followed by a double machine, which cut two channels at the same 
time, and would do the work of fifty men per day, as an average. Some few 
machines in charge of good " runners " under favorable circumstances, such as 
cutting long and deep channels, have for months averaged the work of sixty- 
five men per day ; and on one or two occasions have done the work of lOO 
men in one day. Next to follow this double machine was a machine that 
would cut not only vertical but inclined channels at any angle from the vertical 
to fifty degrees. 

Since the introduction of these channeling machines the marble industry of 



Marble and Slate in Rutland County. 191 

Rutland county has increased fourfold. The machines are in general use 
throughout the country on all quarries that produce dimension stone, except- 
ing granite, and are known as the " Wardwell Channeling Machines." They 
are manufactured in Rutland by the Steam Stone- Cutter Company, organized 
in 1865. 

Development of Maehinery. — The following statements, without being com- 
plete, will show the use and improvement of machinery for quarrying and work- 
ing marble with authorities and dates : — 

1. The mallet, chisel and drill were used in stone- work from the earliest 
times, the two latter, in Egypt, of bronze. 

2. Hand saws without teeth, fed by hand with sand and water, were used 
350 years before Christ. — Plin\' : Translated by Philemon Holland. London, 
1601, Folio, Tom. H, 571. 

3. Saw- mills for sawing stone driven by water-power were in use on the 
little river Roer in Germany in the fourth century of the Christian era. — Beck- 
man referring to the Mosella of Ausuonius. Vol. H, 370. Prof John Beck- 
man's History of Inventions. Translated from the German by William John- 
ston ; two volumes : London, 1797. 

4. Long toothless saws, as long as twenty-three feet, were used by Misson, 
inspector of the Pyrenees quarries, for sawing out blocks of marble, before A. 
D. 1700. — M. Filibien (ob. 16S7), quoted by Chambers's Cyclopedia, 2d edi- 
tion, London, 173S. 

5. Two or more saws stretched in a frame forming a gang, were figured in 
Leonardo da Vinci (ob. 1519). — Clarence Cook in " Scribner's Monthly," vol. 

xvn, p. in. 

6. Saws carried by water-power re-invented by William Colles, Kilkenney, 
Ireland, in 1730. 

7. Polishing and boring done at the same place as above and by the same 
power. 

8. Sawing and polishing by water-power, established at Ashford, Derby- 
shire, Eng., 1748. 

9. Automatic feeder distributing sand and water, Philo Tomlinson, Mar- 
blehead, Conn., 1800. 

10. Arrangement for raising and lowering saws, E. W. Judd, Middlebury, 
Vt., 1822. 

11. Planing mill, Charles C. Boynton, West Stockbridge, Mass., 1836. 

12. Use of steam for sawing blocks in quarry as above. 

13. Channeling machine, George J. Wardwell, Rutland, Vt., 1863. 

14. Diamond drill used in England and France near 1850. 

15. Rock drill, Burleigh, 1866. 

16. Diamond saws used at East Canaan, Conn., 1886. 

17. Automatic sand feed, washing, elevating the sand and distributing the 
same, W. T. Ripley, Rutland, Vt., 1884. 



192 History of Rutland County. 

List of Marble Quarries in Rutland County, Chronologically Arranged. 

NAME OF QUARRY. LOCALITY. BY WHOM OPENED. DATE. 

Sheldon's Pittsford Jeremiah Sheldon 1795 

Hudson's Pittsford Eli II udson 1 799 

Lamb's Pittsford Charles Lamb 1806 

Andrew's Tinmouth Enos Clark 1807 

Brockway's Whipple Hollow, Rutland. Ezra Meach 1807 

Clark's Tinmouth Gen. Jonas Clark 1S21 

Spencer &. Cowen's Pittsford Ezra Spencer & Moses Cowen.. .1830 

Standard Marble Co West Rutland Wm. I. Barnes & Francis Slason.1830 

Humphry's North part of Rutland,near Moses & Willard Humphry & Ed- 
Sutherland Falls gar L. Ormsbee 1836 

Clifford's Pittsford Edward Clifford 1840 

Boston or Selden's Quarry. ..Brandon Jas. Davis, Jas. Davis, jr., Thos. 

J. Bagley & Ilock Hill 1840 

Sheldon's No. i West Rutland Sheldon & Morgan 1844 

Pittsford Quarry Co Pittsford Edward and Nathan Clifford 1845 

Rutland Marble Co West Rutland William J. Barnes 1845 

Gilson &Woodfin's West Rutland Joseph .Adams and IraC. Allen.. 1845 

Kelley's Wallingford Jaseph F. Lippitt 184S 

Manley's Sudbury Albert Manley & Hock Hill 1847 

Selden's Brandon 1847 

Miller's South Tinmouth Rowell Caswell 1S49 

Sherman's ....West Rutland Smith Sherman & Moses Jack- 
man 1 850 

Wheaton Pittsford .\ugustus Barrows 1850 

Sutherland Falls, old opening Sutherland Falls North River i S52 

Hall Wallingford Gen. Robinson Hall 1855 

Adair South Wallingford J. Adair & Bro 1857 

FHnt Brothers Rutland Valley William F. Barnes 1865 

Sheldons & Sons', (3d) West Rutland Sheldon and Slason 1865 

Sutherland Falls (new) Sutherland Falls Sutherland Falls Co 1866 

American Marble Co West Rutland Horace and Norman Clark 1866 

Morgan West Rutland David Morgan 1866 

Dean Brandon Dean Quarry Co 1866 

Albion Rutland Valley William J. Barnes 1866 

Columbian Rutland (north) Columbian 1867 

Centre Rutland Co Centre Rutland B. P. Baker 1880 

Smith's Pittsford J. W. Smith 1880 

Goodell's Brandon S. L. Goodell 1881 

Esperanza Whipple Hollow, Rutland. W. H. Johnson & John B. Reyn- 
olds 1882 

True Blue Whipple Hollow, Rutland. True Blue Co 1884 

Valido \\ hippie Hollow, Rutland . W. 1 1. Johnson and John B. Reyn- 
olds i88a 



The second in importance of ^the economic minerals of the county are the 
Clay Slates. It was known that slate existed in this county long before it was 
quarried. After the first quarry was opened it was used for hearths, head-stones 
for cemeteries, and school slates. The first quarry was worked for eight years 
before any roofing slate was manufactured, and it was one year before the first 
roof was covered with Vermont slate, as before described. Although the slate 



Marble and Slate in Rutland County. 



'93 



industry does not date back so far as that of marble, its development has been 
more rapid, and at the present time it ranks second only to marble in the 
mineral resources of the State. Following is a brief statement of the various 
quarries and firms engaged in the industry in Rutland county. 

The first quarrying of slate in Rutland county was done by Colonel 
Alanson Allen, of Fairhaven, in 1839, in a place called " Scotch Hill." In 
1845 Colonel Allen engaged extensively in the manufacture of school slates, 
and in 1847 began the manufacture of roofing slates; this latter proving the 
most advantageous, he abandoned the school slate industry in 1848.' Next 
to Colonel Allen in this industry was F. W. Whitlock, of Castleton, who opened 
a quarry in that town in 1848; it was situated about forty rods north of the 
north line of Poultney, in the vicinity of a quarry afterward opened, an<d was' 
called by the name of " Eagle Quarry." Daniel and S. E. Hooker opened the 
first quarry in the town of Poultney in 185 I, on the farm of Daniel Hooker- 
this quarry later on fell into the hands of Hugh G. Hughes. In 185 I John 
Humphrey and other Welshmen began operating in the opening of quarries. 
Humphrey opened the Eagle quarry in Hydeville and E. D. Jones opened a 
quarry in the same vicinity. In 1853 the Eagle Slate Company was incorpo- 
rated and began the manufacture of roofing slate under the superintendence of 
Dr. Middleton Goldsmith. In 1869 this company erected a mill for the saw- 
ing and planing of slate into slabs, and in 1871 added a marble and marbleiz- 
ing shop and began manufacturing mantels, billiard table-beds, table-tops, 
hearths, black-boards, tile, flagging, door-steps and various other articles, thus 
making the starting point of the slate mills and of a business which is to-day 
the staple trade and industry of this part of Rutland county. This company 
ceased operations in 1873. 

In 1853 W. L. Farnam & Son opened a quarry, and Grifiith Hughes opened 
one known as the " Evergreen Quarry " in i860, on the farms of L. C. Spauld- 
ing and W. L. Farnam, and the Manville farm. The following named Welsh- 
men began opening quarries in or about the year i860: G. R. Jones, W. E. 
Williams, Lloyd & Co., Lloyd Co. & Williams, Jones & Co. ; some of these 
quarries are working to this day. In 1864 Owen Williams opened the " Gib- 
son Quarry," and in 1871 the " Schenectady Quarry " was opened ; also, Cy- 
rus E. Horton opened the quarry called by his own name, " Horton Quarry." 
In 1866 W. R. Williams opened the quarry called " Green Mountain Quarry," 
on the farm of Aaron Lewis. In 1867 G. I. Davis opened the quarry called 
the " Olive Branch." In the same vicinity E. J. Williams opened a quarry in 
1872 and Williams Brothers had their slate mill built about the same time. 

In 1 87 1 many, enterprising Welshmen commenced operating in opening 

1 The first roof covered with Vermont slale was done by Colonel Alanson Allen in 1848 under the 
following conditions : He was to wait one year for his pay, and if in the mean time the roof should break 
down from the weight of slate, he was to receive no pay, but should pay all damages. The farmer was 
disappointed and the roof is good to-day, 13 



194 HisroRY OF Rutland County. 

quarries on the farm of Asa Rogers, on the vein called the " Sea-Green." 
Among these may be named Messrs. Rogers, Seeley, Culver, E. C. Richard- 
son and Griffith and Nathaniel. In 1875 Messrs. John Davis and Lewis Rob- 
erts opened a quarry on John Lemena's farm ; also Messrs. Cooke and Whit- 
lock opened each a quarry in 1872. In the same year Merritt W. Bardwell 
and Evan Jones opened a quarry on the Sea-Green vein on the farm of David 
Farrar, about one mile east of Granville, which is at present in possession of W. 
J. Evans. About the same time H. W. Hughes opened a quarry on the same 
vein, just over the brook from Bardwell & Jones's quarry. Also in that year 
W. Pierce, Francis & Co. opened their quarry now known by the name of 
"Warren Slate Company," on Williams's farm halfway between Granville and 
West Pawlet. Following this the " J " Company opened what now goes by the 
name of the Brownell Slate and Flagging Company's quarries. In the same 
vicinity, on Bullock's farm, the Brownell Company opened several quarries on 
their own land adjoining afterward. J. Griffith and W. Roberts opened the 
" Tabor Quarry " and W. Jones and Robert Jones opened the quarry now 
owned by H. Hughes called the " Vermont Slate Company." The same year 
Griffith Lloyd and Owen Evans opened a quarry on the Sea-Green vein at 
West Pawlet, now in possession of H. W. Hughes. After this O. Evans opened 
another quarry and a man named McFadden another, which are at present in 
possession of Rising & Nelson and called the "Top-of-Hill Quarries," West 
Pawlet. There are other small quarries opened in this vicinity b}- Howell Dil- 
lingham. Other quarries worthy of mention on the Sea- Green vein are those 
opened by John O. Parry and W. Jones, called the " Starvation Quarry," now 
in possession of H. W. Williams. Messrs. Jones & Ellis, Evans, Roberts, Nor- 
ton Brothers, H. D. G. Joslin, Kinne, Hunt & Co. and Robert J. Jones have 
each opened a quarry on the Williams and HoUister farms, in the vicinity be- 
tween West Pawlet and Granville ; also, N. Welch and J. Warren have each a 
quarry on the Sea-Green vein. In 1883 H. Evans opened a quarr\- on the 
Sea-Green vein between Granville and Wells, which is now worked by Messrs. 
Temple & Heffernan. 

Scotch Hill Slate Quarry and Mill, situated i^ miles from Fairhaven, 
Griffith Owen & Co., proprietors. This quarry was opened about 1850 and 
produces flagging, roofing and mill stock. Their steam mill is furnished with 
four planers, four circular saws, one band saw, one rubbing-bed and one jointer. 
The mill and quarry give employment to thirty men. 

Cookville Slate Company (formerly Western Vermont Quarry). — Quarry 
opened by William and John R. Williams and John Humphrey, in 1850. 
Ouarry stopped work last spring — 1885. The above property is now owned 
by Clifford & Litchfield, who have a mill at H)-deville with four circular saws, 
one band saw, three planers, one rubbing-bed, one jointer. They manufacture 
fire-frames and mantels, and make stair work a specialt}-. 



Marble and Slate in Rutland County. 195 

Eureka Slate Compan}' {Wyman Roberts, proprietor). — The first quarry 
was opened by A. W. Hyde in 1852. Three quarries are now worked, pro- 
ducing principally roofing slates for exportation, the bulk of which are shipped 
to Australia. There is a sixty-five horse-power Westinghouse engine at the 
quarry which operates four hoisting works and five circular saws. The saws 
are used for sawing through broad slabs of slate instead of breaking, thereby 
effecting a great saving of stock, and enabling them to produce uniformly slates 
of larger size. The slate stock consists of purple, green and sea-green. It is 
claimed that the works are capable of turning out 850 squares of slate per day. 
Sixty-five men are employed. 

Lake Shore Slate Company (formerly known as "West Castleton Railroad 
and Slate Company"), West Castleton. — Quarry opened about 1852 ; S. L. Haz- 
zard, proprietor. This quarry produces principal!/ mill stock. The company 
also have a mill driven by an overshot wheel twenty-four feet in diameter. 
The mill contains seven circular saws, one band saw, one jig saw, five planers, 
two rubbing-beds, one jointer. 

Fairhaven Marble and Marbleized Slate Company (known early as the Ca- 
pen Quarry). — Quarries opened in 1852. Their quarry property embraces 
twenty acres of the 160 acres known as the Capen farm, on which four quar- 
ries have been opened and are now being worked, the largest being that of the 
above company. They are running two mills consisting of the following ma- 
chinery : seven planers, nine circular saws, one band saw, two rubbing-beds, 
one jointer, one lathe. These mills give employment to 100 men; quarry, 
twenty- five men. 

Nezv Empire Slate Company. — Opened by Owen Williams in 1864. This 
company work their stock into roofing slate, producing 2,000 squares per \-ear. 
Color of slate, purple. Eight men are employed. 

Harvey Slate Quarry (West Castleton), Griffith, Owen & Co., proprietors, 
Fairhaven. — Old quarry opened 1865; not worked. New quarry opened 
in 1885. Produce mill stock. 

Griffith & Nathaniel. — Are working four quarries two and one-half miles 
southeast of Poultney village. The product of their quarries is worked princi- 
pally into roofing slate. They give employment to from sixty to one hundred 
men. The firm is composed of William Griffith and William Nathaniel. 

William E. Lloyd (successors to Lloyd, Owens & Co.) — Are working five 
quarries two miles north of Poultney village. First quairy was opened in 
1866 Their stock is worked into roofing slate, producing from 6,000 to 9,000 
squares, and emplo\' from forty to fifty men. 

Evergreen Slate Quarry. — Opened in 1867 ; H. Ainsworth & Cole, pro- 
prietors. The quarry is situated three and one-half miles north of Poultney 
village, and two and one-half miles from Fairhaven. This is the largest quarry 
that has been opened in the slate district. Its width or thickness across strata 



196 History of Rutland County. 

is 200 feet, length 600 feet; 180 feet of this thickness is green in color and 
twenty feet is purple. The product of the quarry is worked into billiard and 
mantle stock principally. Pieces not large enough for billiard or mantle stock 
are worked into tile and roofing slate, the latter bringing $1.00 more per square 
than sea-green. 1 They have an eighty horse-power Westinghouse engine, 
which operates three hoisting-machines and power for their mill of five planers, 
six circular saws, one band saw, two rubbing-beds, one jointer, one No. 9 
Knowles pump, for keeping the quarry free of water. Their shipping point is 
one and a half miles from the mill, on the Rutland and Washington Railroad. 
Fifty men are employed about the mill and quarry. The capacity of the mill 
is about 25,000 feet per month without any night work. Nearly two-thirds of 
their stock goes into billiard-table tops, a New York firm iiaving contracted to 
take all they can produce for five years. 

Billings Marble and Slate Compatiy, L. H. Billings, manager, Hydeville. — 
The quarry property at Blissville, operated for the past twenty-one years by 
the " Blue Slate Company," has recently been purchased by the Billings Mar- 
ble & Slate Company and James H. Wiswell, of Hydeville, and is to be worked 
hereafter by them under the name of the "Trojan Slate Company." They also 
own the Billings old quarry. This company have a mill at Hydeville with five 
circular saws, one band saw, three planers, one rubbing-bed, one grinder. 

Premium Purple Slate Company (Poultney). — Robert Morris, treasurer. 
Quarry opened in 1875. Produces roofing slate. 

Boyce Qiiarry (Poultney). — Situated about two miles north of the village. 
Worked by Robert Williams. Produces roofing slate and employs ten men. 

Jones, Roberts & Edwards (Poultney), successors to Jones, Roberts & 
Parry. — Quarry opened in 1877. Present firm dates from 1882. Employ 
fourteen men. Product of quarry, mill stock and roofing slate. 

Temple &• Heffernan (Wells). — Quarry opened in 1882. Produce roofing 
slate and employ ten men. 

Anld & Conger (Poultney). — Quarrj- opened by Thomas Edwards in 1882. 
They use steam-hoisting works, and employ twenty-five men, producing roof- 
ing slate. 

Hazzard Slate Company (Fairhaven). — This company opened their quarry 
at Scotch Hill in 1882. They have a mill at Fairhaven with the following 
plant: Six circular saws, one band saw, five planers, one rubbing-bed, one 
jointer. Produce of quarry used as mill stock. They employ forty men and 
manufacture mantel stock, currier's slabs, urinals, grave covers, vault work 
and greenhouse shelves, slate steps and platforms a specialty, trimmings for 
brick buildings, registers, frames, roofing slate, etc., etc. 

Lake Bomosecn Slate Company (West Castleton), John Dalenta, superin- 
tendent. — Opened their quarry in 1884, and in 1885 built a steam mill at the 

l^TliL-y make aliuut one hundred and sevenly-live squares of roofing .slate per month. 



Marble and Slate in Rutland County. 197 

quarry, which runs three saws, two planers, one rubbing-bed, and one jointer. 
The product of the quarry is used principally as mill stock. 

Jones &■ Parry (Poultney). — Opened quarry in 1884. Product used for 
roofing. Employ five men. 

Lloyd & Jones. — Are working two quarries, one was opened in 1870, and 
the other in 1885. The quarries are situated about two miles north of Poult- 
ney village. They produce roofing slate and employ twelve men. 

Bolger Brothers. — Have a mill at Hydesville with three circular saws, one 
band saw, two planers, one rubbing-bed. They also work a quarry at Poult- 
ney between Hanger's and the Blue Slate Quarry. The firm comprises Will- 
iam, Martin, Thomas and James Bolger. 

Hydeville Slate Company. — Have a mill at Hydeville with four circular 
saws, one band saw, four planers, one jointer, one rubbing-bed, one lathe. 

Jolin R. Hughes & Company (Fairhaven), lessees. — Employ four men, 
producing mill stock. 

R. Hanger Slate J^^r,^.y (Hydeville). — Work a quarry at Blissville, near the 
Blue Slate Quarry. Product of quarry is manufactured into billiard-table beds, 
black-boards, turned columns, and slate work of all descriptions. Employ 
twenty to thirty men. 

Hydeville Marbleized Slate Works. — P. H. Dowe and James Delhanty, 
proprietors. 

5. Allen Slate Works (Fairhaven). — Marbleizers. Mill of eight circular 
saws, one band saw, three planers, one rubbing- bed, one jointer, one lathe. 

Steiuart Slate Mantel Company (Fairhaven). — Marbleizers. 

William Fox (Fairhaven). — Slate marbleizer. 

Coleman, Westcott & Burns (Fairhaven). — Marbleizers. Mill, three circular 
saws, one band saw, two planers, one jointer. 

List of quarries in Rutland county in working order in 1885 : — 



Harvey Slate Quarry, West Castleton . .mill stock 
Scotch Hill Slate Co., Scotch Hill.... 

Hazzard Slate Co., " 

Fairhaven Marbleized Slate Co., Fair- 
haven " 

Vermont Union Slate Co., Fairhaven.. " 
Snowden Slate Co., Fairhaven, 

mill stock & roofing. 

B. Lewis & Co., Fairhaven mill stock 

Edward Owen & Co., " 

Pierce Roberts, " 

S. Roberts & Co., " 

Owen, Jones & Son, " 

James Whistle, Hydeville.. 

Billings Marble & Slate Co., 

Blue Slate Co., Castleton 

Royal Purple Slate Co., " 



H. .\insworth & Cole, Castleton mill stock 

Wm. E. Lloyd, successor to Lloyd, Owen 

& Co., Poultney roofing 

Moses T. Thomas, Farmersville-.mill stock 

Eureka Slate Co., " .. ..roofing 

Richard Hughes & Co., " ..mill stock 

Roach & Brothers, " .. " 

Jones & Morris, I " ....roofing 

Unevian Slate Co.,; Poultney mill stock 

Poultney Slate Works, " " 

New Empire Slate Co., " roofing 

D. Culver & Co., " •' 

Thomas Edwards & Co., Wells and Poult- 
ney " 

.-^uld & Conger, Wells and Poultney.. " 

Griffith & Nathaniel, " " .. " 

E. Knapp, Green Mountain " 

W. J. Griffith & Co., Wells and Poultney.. " 

W. E. Williams, agent, " . ..slate pencils i Seth Roberts & Co., " " '.. " 



[98 



History of Rutland County. 



Wells and Poultney. .roofing 



Roach Quarry 

McGrath & Rogers, Wells and Poultney.. 

Temple and Heffernan, 'Wells 

W. J. Evans (three quarries), Wells 

Hugh J. Williams, Pawlet 

M.Welch, " 

J- Warren, " 

Norton Brothers (two quarries), Pawlet.. 

H. D. G. Goslin, Pawlet 

Kinnie, Hunt and Co., " 

Jones and Ellis, " 

Robert J. Jones, " 

Vermont .Slate Co., " 

H.J.Williams, " 

Roberts and Jones (Tabor Quarry), Paw- 
let 

The Brownell .Slate and Flagging Co., 
(four quarries), Pawlet 

Warren Slate Co. (two quarries), Pawlet.. 

H. Dillingham, West Pawlet 

A few other quarries are in 
whicli promise future profit. 

Analysis of slate in Rutland count}', Vt., and \^'ashington county, N. Y., 
by Professor J. I^>ancis Williams, of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, 
N. Y. :— 



Hughes (four quarries). We 



H. W. 

Pawlet roofing 

Rising and Nelson '(four quarries). West 

Pawlet " 

Jones and Griffith, West Pawlet " 

LaV-e Bomoseen Slate Co., West Cas- 

tleton mill stock 

Knapp and Prouty, Poultney... " 

W. W. Martin, " ... 

Premium Purple Slate Co., " roofing 

The Boyce Quarry, " " 

Jones, Roberts and Edwards, Poultney, mill stock 
Ripley and Stanley, (two quarries), 

Poultney " 

Captain Wm. H. Jones, Poultney " 

Jones and Parry, " roofing 

Lloyd and Jones, " " 

Bolger Brothers, " " 

R. Hanger, Blissville billiard beds, etc. 



process of opening, but not yet developed, 





SEA 

GREEN. 


GREEN. 


PnKP.E. 


RED SLATE 
vn-LE, NT. 


Silica 


65.02 

5-44 
2.99 
16.02 

1-31 
Tib 

1-37 


64.71 

5-44 
7-23 
7. 84 
0.30 
3.00 
1-55 

6.92 
1.38 
1.63 


62.37 
4.21 
7.66 

1340 
0.20 
2.50 
0.16 
trace 
7.20 
1.50 
0.90 


73-93 
'•74 


Protoxide of iron 


Peroxide of iron 


10.17 


-Alumina 


5.16 
0.10 


Manganese Oxide 


*Calcium Carbonate 


\i^ 


Calcium Sulphate 


Phosphoric Acid 




.•\lkalies (Sodium) 


3-92 
1.24 


Water 


"Magnesia 


1-43 



Pero.xide of iron is probably the coloring matter. These analyses show 
that the bulk of slate deposits is made up chiefly of silica and alumina, and 
was therefore at one time ordinary clay. 



Beds of hematite (limonite) iron ore are found in many localities within this 
county, some of which have been worked, producing a superior quality of what 
was called " charcoal iron," charcoal being used for fuel in reducing the ores. 
In close proximity to these ore beds are large deposits of yellow ocher (lim- 
nite) which has been and is now being mined for paint material. 

An e.xtensive bed of limonite exists in the southeast part of Tinmouth near 
the north end of Tinmouth Pond, which was successfully worked for about 
thirty years. This deposit was called the " Chipman Bed." This bed was 
abandoned some forty years ago, and has not been worked since. 



Marble and Slate in Rutland County. 199 

About two miles north of the Chipman Bed is another deposit of ore which 
was opened and worked seventy-five years ago. This ore was excellent and 
iron of superior quality was made from it. This bed is now abandoned. There 
is a deposit of iron ore situated about one mile east of South Wallingford vil- 
lage that has been worked, but is now abandoned. The iron ore was of infe- 
rior qualit}', owing to the large percentage of manganese present. The follow- 
ing is an anaylsis of iron made from this ore, by Prof Olmstead : — 

Metallic iron S8.71 

Metallic manganese II. 28 

99-99 

The manganese made the iron hard and brittle. 

A furnace for smelting iron was built in Pittsford in the fall of 1791 by 
Israel Keith, from Easton, Mass. The ore was mostly brought from Chitten- 
den, a distance of about two miles. A good quality of iron was made and 
found a ready sale. On the 4th of July, 1795, Mr. Keith sold the furnace 
property to Nathan Gibbs, Cornelius Gibbs, Edward Kingman and Luke Reed ; 
and in 1797 Nathan Gibbs purchased his associates' interests and took upon 
himself the sole management of it. He enlarged the works and continued the 
business till about the time of his death in 1824. After the death of Mr. 
Gibbs the furnace passed into the hands of Andrew Leach, who sold it to Sim- 
eon Granger & Sons in 1826. 

The furnace was burned in 1827, but was rebuilt soon afterward and the 
business was conducted by " Simeon Granger & Sons" till the death of the 
father in 1834, when the two sons, Lyman and Chester, took charge of the 
works. In 1837 Lyman sold his interest to Edward L. Granger, another 
brotlier. C. & E. L. Granger continued the business until the death of the 
junior member of the firm in 1846, when George W. Hodges was admitted as 
a member of the firm, and the furnace business was conducted in the name of 
" Granger, Hodges & Co." till 1852. 

After a partial suspension of business a stock company was formed and 
incorporated by an act of the General Assembly as the " Pittsford Iron Com- 
pany." This company did a brisk business for a short time, but soon sus- 
pended, not being able to compete with other companies elsewhere possessing 
superior facilities for the manufacture of iron. 

In 1865 the name of the company was changed to the "Vermont Iron 
Company," which was composed of entirely new members, who repaired the 
furnace and again put it in operation ; but it was found to be an unprofitable 
business, and consequently was again suspended, and has remained so to the 
present time. 

Iron was discovered in Brandon in 18 10 and soon after a forge was built 
and bar iron of superior quality was manufactured for several years. In 1820 
John Conant, esq., built a furnace for reducing the ore. It is to the energy 



History of Rutland County. 



and enterprise of Mr. Conant that Brandon is indebted for an impetus then 
given to its business which added materially to its growth and prosperity. 

In 1850 the furnace property, ore beds, kaolin mines, etc., were purchased 
by the " Brandon Car Wheel Company," who for a number of years manu- 
factured a superior quality of cold blast charcoal iron. The iron furnace has 
not been in operation for a number of years. 

Three miles northeast of the Granger furnace, not far from the west line of 
Chittenden, are beds of limonite. That known as the " Mitchel Bed " has been 
worked quite extensively and the greater portion has been of excellent quality. 
The Mitchel Bed furnished much of the ore for the Granger furnace. 

The yellow ocher (limnite), kaolin and manganese (psilolemane) ore, were 
each successfully worked while the iron furnace was in operation. Many tons 
of the manganese were shipped to England. The ocher is still mined to a 
moderate extent as a paint material by the " Brandon Kaolin and Paint Co.," 
of which G. W. Prime is president ; C. H. Forbes, secretary. The ocher is also 
mined for paint material by the " Original Brandon Paint Co." No iron beds 
or blast furnaces are worked at the present time within the county. 

A thick deposit of sulphate of iron, or iron pyrites, exists at Cuttingsville, 
which has been mined and used quite extensively in the manufacture of cop- 
peras. For nearly forty years these beds have been abandoned ; the buildings 
in which the copperas was manufactured have been taken down and removed. 
With the exception of the mine but few traces of the works are to be seen. 



Clays suitable for brick are found in several localities within the county. 
Good bricks are manufactured in Rutland by John Mclntire ; also by Albert 
Davis. Their yards and kilns are just south of the village. A good quality 
of brick is also made at Brandon. 

The bricks used in the construction of the United States court-house and 
post-office at Rutland were made from clay hauled from Pittsford and were 
pressed and burned at Rutland. 

Fire-clay is found in Brandon and at one time was used in the manufacture 
of fire-brick and stone-ware. A deposit of fire-clay of excellent quality is found 
near the east line of Rutland, which is worked to some extent by the " Rut- 
land Fire-clay Co.," of which R. L. Perkings is manager and A. W. Perkings, 
treasurer. 

The writer desires to state that he has gladly availed himself of information 
wherever it could be obtained, relating to the subject matter contained in the 
foregoing chapter. Much relating to geology has been derived from the fol- 
lowing works, viz. : Vc7-mont Geological Reports, 2d vol., 1861. Dana's Man- 
teal of Geology, 3d edition, 1 88- Prof Archibald Geike's Elements of Geol- 
ogy, London. Proceedings of the Middlebnry Historical Society, vol. I, part 



Rutland County Educational Interests. 



II, entitled The Marble Border of Western New England, Middlebury, Vt., 
1885. A Treatise on the Slate Quarries of Rutland Connty, by Owen Ifor, 1884, 
as well as from many individuals who have kindly furnished me with infor- 
mation relating to the early development of the slate and marble industries. 
To all such I tender a hearty acknowledgment. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

RUTLAND COUNTY EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS.i 

Character of Early Settlers in Vermont — Their Reliance Upon the Church and the School-House 
— Plymouth Colony Act Relative to Education — Furtlrer School Legislation — Early County, or 
Grammar Schools — Rutland County Board of Trustees — Academic History — Rutland County Acad- 
emy — "Brandon Academy" — West Rutland Academy — Poultney Female Academy — Primary 
Schools — Provisions for their Support — The Pioneer School System and School-Houses — School 
Improvements — Normal Schools — Graded and Union Schools — Present School Conditions. 

OUR Vermont historian, Zadock Thompson, opens his chapter on " Educa- 
tion and Literature in Vermont," as follows : — 

" Few of the early settlers of Vermont enjoyed any other advantages of 
education than a few months' attendance at primary schools as they existed in 
New England previous to the Revolution. But these advantages had been so 
well improved that nearly all of them were able to read and write a legible 
hand and had acquired a sufficient knowledge of arithmetic for the transaction 
of ordinary business. They were in general men of strong and penetrating 
minds, and clearly perceiving the numerous advantages which education con- 
fers, they early directed their attention to the establishment of schools." 

There can be little doubt of the correctness of Mr. Thompson's views of the 
character of the first settlers of Vermont and that " they early directed their 
attention to the establishment of schools"; that is shown by the records of 
almost every town in the State. 

The first settlers of Vermont were not born in Vermont. They came here 
in the main from the older settled colonies of Massachusetts and Connecticut, 
a few coming from Rhode Island and New Hampshire. They brought with 
them what education they had received and the characters they had formed in 
those colonies from which they had emigrated. And it is evident that those 
early settlers, after they came to Vermont, clearly perceived " the numerous 
advantages which education confers"; they must have acquired that capacity 
before they came here. It seems, then, to the writer, that for the better un- 

1 Prepared and contributed by Hon. Barnes Frisbie, of Poultney. 



History of Rutland County. 



derstanding of our educational history we should first go back to our settle- 
ment and briefly review the influences which had been at work in moulding 
the characters of our first settlers. We boast of our Puritan origin, and we 
may. Freedom had its birth long before the declaration of independence. It 
was weak at first ; it grew slowly but surely until it culminated in the Ameri- 
can Revolution and the establishment of a free government. What were the 
agencies which effected this growth ? History leaves us in no doubt on that 
subject. 

New England was settled by the Puritans. First came those who fled from 
Notdnghamshire to Holland in 1608 to escape persecution. From Holland 
they landed at Plymouth in 1620 and founded the Plymouth colony. Between 
1630 and 1650 large numbers of Puritans left England for America and found- 
ed the colonies of Massachusetts and Connecticut. The latter did not flee from 
persecution, as, at the time they left, Puritanism in England had increased in 
power and could not be assailed with impunity. The Puritans were, in fact, 
the best class of men England could turn out at the time to found new com- 
munities. They were free thinkers, independent in thought and action. They 
were subjects of the crown of Great Britain, but formed governments for them- 
selves in Massachusetts and Connecticut as purely democratic as the govern- 
ment of the United States is or ever was. They were behind this age in civili- 
zation, yet they were thoroughly democratic in their local government. Their 
laws were crude in style and form and they were intolerant to those who dif- 
fered from them in religious faith and doctrine, yet with an unflinching adher- 
ence to duty, as they understood it, and their firm reliance upon the church 
and the school-house, they made their way on in the progress of civilization, 
and succeeded in opening the way for the best government the sun ever shone 
upon. 

As this chapter is to be devoted to educational history, we may briefly 
consider that which pertains to New England before the outbreak of the Revo- 
lutionary War. As one writer well says : " Scarcely had the Pilgrims landed 
when they put their heads together in order to devise means for the moral and 
mental culture of their children." The colony, or the colonies, and the schools 
started together. The first educational ordinance in Massachusetts was in 
1642. This provided that the selectmen of every tow^n should see to it that 
children and apprentices are not wronged in matters of education ; it also pro- 
vided for a fine of twenty shillings upon the off'enders against the law. Vari- 
ous enactments were made in subsequent years by the General Court of the 
several colonies, with the view evidently of adequately supporting a generous 
system of education. They established free schools — schools that were open 
to all children of school age, and, more than that, they provided by law that 
all of school age should attend — compulsory, if need be. The next year after 
the New Haven colony was founded a school was established and in running 



Rutland County Educational Interests. 203 



■ order in that colony. I may be here permitted to take an extract from the 
Plymouth colony laws passed by the General Court of the colony in 1670: — 

" Education of children. — For as much as the good Education of Children 
and youth is of singular use and benefit to any Commonwealth ; and whereas 
many Parents and Masters, either through an over-respect to their own occa- 
sions and business or not duly considering the good of their childien and serv- 
ants, have too much neglected their duty in their education, whilst they are 
young and capable of learning : it is ordered : that Deputies and Selectmen 
of every Town shall have a vigilent eye from time to time over their Brethren 
and Neighbors, to see that all Parents and Masters do duly endeavor by them- 
selves or others, to teach their children and servants as they grow capable, so 
much learning as through the blessing of God that they may attain at least to 
be able duly to read the scriptures, and good profitable books printed in the 
English Tongue (being their Native Language) and the Knowledge of the Cap- 
ital laws, and in some competent measure to understand the main Grounds 
and Principals of Christian Religion, necessary to Salvation, by causing them 
to learn some Orthodox Catechisme without book, or otherwise instructing 
them as they may be able to give a due answer to such plain and ordinary 
Questions, as may by them or others be propounded to them concerning the 
same : and further, that all Parents and Masters do breed and bring up their 
children and apprentices in some honest lawful calling, labor or employment 
that may be profitable for themselves or their country ; and after warning and 
admonition given by the Deputies or Selectmen into such Parents or Masters, 
they shall still remain negligent in their dut)- in an)' of the particulars afore 
mentioned, whereby Children or Servants may be in danger to grow Barber- 
ous. Rude or Stubborn, or so prove Pests instead of Blessings to their country, 
that then a fine of ten shillings shall be levied on the Goods of such negligent 
Parents or Master, to the Towns use, except extreme poverty call for mitiga- 
tion of the said fine. 

"And if in three months after that there be no due care taken and contin- 
ued, for the Educaton of such children and apprentices of aforesaid then a fine 
of twenty shillings to be levied on such Delinquents Goods, to the Towns use 
except as afore said. 

" And Lastly, if in three months after that, there be no due Reformation of 
said neglect, then the said Select Men with the help of two Magistrates, shall 
take such children and servants from them and place them with some Master 
for years (boys till they come to twenty-one, and girls eighteen 3'ears of age) 
which shall more strictly educate and govern them according to the rules of 
the order." 

These laws were drafted in " ye ancient style," but they unmistakably in- 
dicate the Puritan idea of education at the time, and it may also be remarked 
that the history of the Puritans in New England shows that their laws were not 



204 History of Rutland County. 

a dead letter. They were thoroughly in earnest in their laws, in all the ways 
of life. 

Thus began the settlement of New England and thus it progressed under 
that high ideal of life which brought to its aid religion and education. The free 
school — the school open to all, had been without precedent ; it was first adopted 
by the Puritans. It is not to be claimed here that the early colonial schools of 
New England had the perfection which a more advanced and enlightened age 
has shown ; but they were schools as good as could be gotten up at that age 
with the means they had, and were as faithfully and persistently maintained as 
any schools ever were. History gives no practical example that shows in a 
stronger light the value of general education. If we search the old colonial 
records we shall find much that is arbitrary, much that is superstitious, much 
that is intolerant in religion ; but we shall not fail to find that the Puritans put 
themselves on grounds from which they could advance and that they did ad- 
vance. The germ was transplanted from Europe to our shores, and here it 
grew, and was pruned from time to time, as it grew, of its inconsistencies with 
enlightened freedom, its superstition and its intolerance. And here is an op- 
portunity for the philosophical student of history to study the laws oi growth 
which apply as well to nations, states, communities and societies, as to a tree 
or plant. The germ, so to speak, must be nourished by the material which 
the revealed and natural laws of God require to insure its growth, and the 
important factors in the nourishment by the Puritans were the church and the 
school- house. 

Perhaps the space given to history outside of Vermont and before the State 
was settled, as introductory, may be regarded as useless ; but the writer does 
not so consider it. If the reader adopts the reasonings and conclusions of the 
writer, we shall now understand why the first settlers of Vermont early direct- 
ed their attention to education ; we shall understand what made success possi- 
ble in the Revolutionary struggle. The writer is old enough to bring evidence 
to bear upon this point. I was personally acquainted with quite a large num- 
ber of the soldiers of the Revolution, residents in the main of Rutland county. 
They were men, not machines, as were the common soldiers of the British 
army. I knew them as prominent and useful members of society ; members 
of churches, deacons, civil magistrates and otherwise occupying places of trust 
and responsibility. They were not in general as highly educated as the aver- 
age citizen of to-day. yet the proportion who were obliged to make their cross 
when they drew their pensions was probably not larger than that of the sol- 
diers of the war of 1861. 

School Legislation. — The first constitution of Vermont, established by con- 
vention July 2, and December 24, 1777, contained this section: "A school or 
schools shall be established in each town by the Legislature, for the conven- 
ient instruction of youth, with such salaries to the masters, paid by each town,. 



Rutland County Educational Interests. 205 

making proper use of school lands in such towns, thereby to enable them to 
instruct youth at low prices. One Grammar School in each County, and one 
University in this State, ought to be established by the General Assembly." 

The first general law of Vermont, says Thompson, on the subject of pri- 
mary schools was passed by the Legislature on the 22d day of October, 1782. 
This law provided for the division of towns into school districts, for the ap- 
pointment of trustees in each town, for the general superintendence of schools 
and for the election of a prudential committee by the inhabitants of each dis- 
trict, to which committee power was given to raise one-half of the money nec- 
essary for the building and repairing the school-house and supporting a school, 
by a tax assessed on the grand list, and the other half either on the list, or on 
the parents of the scholars, as should be ordered by a vote of the district. 

This was the law under which the school system of Vermont started. That 
there were some schools in the State prior to the passage of this law seems 
probable. Mr. Hollister, the Pawlet historian, says : " Next to providing 
themselves with shelter and the most common necessaries of life, our fathers, 
true to the institutions under which they had been reared, directed their at- 
tention to education. Schools were established as soon as a sufficient number 
of scholars could be gathered in any locality." This is true of all the towns 
in the county of Rutland, indeed of the State. The first school-houses, as well 
as the first dwellings, were of logs ; so important to our first settlers was the 
education of their children that they made almost anything answer for a school- 
room. The historical student cannot fail to see the force of those words of 
Mr. Hollister: "Our fathers, true to the institutions under which they had 
been reared " (in Massachusetts and Connecticut), directed their attention to 
education. 

The act of October 22, 17S2, also provided that the judges of the County 
Courts be authorized to appoint trustees of a county school (grammar school), 
in each of their respective counties, and with the assistance of justices of the 
peace to levy a tax for the purpose of building a county school-house in each 
county. This part of the act was never fully carried into effect. The first 
county or grammar schools in Rutland were established, but no tax was ever 
raised as provided. Some of them were aided by " grammar school land " 
granted by the Legislature; though as early as 1786 a movement was made 
in Rutland county which resulted in the establishment of the Rutland County 
Grammar School at Castleton. This movement was mainly on the part of the 
people of Castleton, and through their efforts a grammar school was opened in 
that town in the year 1781. It was opened in "a gambrill-roof school-house" 
which had been recently erected, and was continued in the same until the build- 
ing was consumed by fire in the year 1 800. The Legislature passed an act 
October 29, 1805, entitled "An Act Confirming the Grammar School in the 
County of Rutland, " and the Rev. Elihu Smith, the Hon. James VVitherell, 



2o6 History of Rutland County. 

and Messrs. Chauncey Langdon, A. W. Hyde, Theophilus Flagg, Samuel Shaw,. 
James Gilmore, Amos Thompson, John Mason, Enos Merrill and Isaac Clark 
were constituted a board of trustees with the usual powers. Section F of this 
act reads as follows : "And it is hereby further enacted that the house in 
Castleton in said county, lately erected on the spot where stood the school- 
house for said county, which was lately consumed by fire, be and is hereby 
established as a county grammar school-house for said county, so long as the 
inhabitants of said Castleton shall keep the same or any other house in the same 
place in good repair for the purpose aforesaid to the exceptance of the County 
Court of said county. " 

I have been unable to learn that any tax was ever laid on the county of 
Rutland for the purpose of erecting buildings for a county school-house. A 
corporation was created by the Legislature under the name of the Rutland 
County Grammar School, and was twice afterward affirmed ; once by the act 
last named in 1805, and subsequently in 1830. The school has been essentially 
an academy from the first and received its support, as other academies have to- 
this day, in the tuition fees of those who attended. It is the oldest academy in 
Rutland county and one of the oldest in the State. A portion of the time since 
its establishment it has had a large patronage, and was regarded as one of the- 
the most flourishing institutions of its kind in New England. 

Other Academies. — Other academies have arisen in Rutland county. The 
Troy Conference Academy was incorporated in 1834, and soon after com- 
menced as a school. A fine academy building in Poultney was completed in 
1837, and the school commenced its work in that building in the fall of that 
year. For twenty years after the establishment of this school its patronage 
was large. In 1863 it was changed to a school for females under the name of 
Ripley Female College, and in 1873 was restored to the Troy Conference and 
has since been used as a Conference school with a fair patronage, and is now 
quite prosperous under the direction of Rev. C. H. Dunton as principal. 

The " Brandon Academy " was incorpated by the Legislature in 1806. It 
existed as a school for several years, but never drew much patronage outside 
of the town. The Vermont Scientific and Literar\' Institution was organized 
about 1S25; I find no record of its incorporation. A fine building was erected 
and the school started off" under the auspices of the Baptist denomination, and 
for many years was quite flourishing. Like many other academies in the State, 
its patronage gradually diminished until it ceased to exist, and the " Old Semi- 
nary Building " became the property of the graded school established in Bran- 
don in 1865, and was repaired and remodeled for that purpose. 

Several other academies have been incorporated from time to time in Rut- 
land county, but the three at Castleton, Poultney and Brandon have been the 
most prominent. The Vermont Academy was incorporated and located at 
Rutland in 1805, but I find no account of its ever existing as a school. The 



Rutland County Educational Interests. 207 

West Rutland Academy was incorporated in 1810. This existed and was 
quite a flourishing school for over twenty years. Poultney Female Academy 
was incorpated in 18 19, but lived only two or three years. Mr. Hollister in 
his history of Pawlet, says : " Measures were taken about the beginning of the 
present century for the establishment of an academy, or grammar school, as 
such institutions were then generally called. A commodious brick edifice was 
erected near the village, in which the higher branches were taught, usually two 
terms in the year, fall and winter, until its destruction by fire in 1845. When 
the Methodist church on the hill vvas vacated in 1845 by the society, it was 
fitted up for an academy under the auspices of JaSon F. Walker, its first prin- 
cipal. This school took the name of Mettowel Academy, but I am not aware 
that this or any other academy in Pawlet was ever incorporated. The Met- 
towel was sustained as an academic institution some ten years, when it ceased 
to exist. 

The people of Vermont seemed to have been opposed to adding academies 
by raising a tax on the grand list, yet those institutions have been numerous 
in the State, and in great part well sustained until the introduction of graded 
schools, of which I shall have something to say in this chapter. The academies 
in Rutland county have done good work in the cause of education, and two of 
them, those at Castleton and Poultney, are now doing good work ; one of the 
State Normal Schools is connected with the academy at Castleton. The his- 
torians of the several towns where the academies are and have been located 
will go more into detail in giving the history of those institutions in Rutland 
county. 

Primary Schools. — We will now return to the primary schools. The Leg- 
islature from time to time made amendments to the school laws passed in 17S2, 
yet no radical changes were made until 1844. The laws of 1782 were so changed 
quite early in our history that a State school tax was provided of three cents on 
the dollar; the money raised by this tax and the income of the school lands went 
into the town treasury and was called " the public school money," and divided 
among the several districts in each town by the selectmen of the several towns, 
and the balance necessary to support the school was raised on the polls of the 
scholars attending the schools. Ry an act passed by the Legislature in 1825, 
a very considerable fund was added to the " public money." By this act all 
the avails of the " old Vermont 'State Bank," with six per cent, of the net 
profits on the existing banks, and all sums arising from peddlers' licenses went 
into this fund. It amounted in 1841 to $164,292.28. But this sum soon de- 
parted by means of legislative enactments and otherwise, which our space will 
not permit us to trace out in detail. 

In 1837 Congress made provision for the deposit of the surplus revenue, 
which had accumulated from the sales of public land, with the several States 
of the Union. The share which fell to Vermont was $669,086,74. This sum 



2o8 History of Rutland County. 

was distributed among the several towns in the State in proportion to their 
population, and the towns were directed to loan the money on sufficient secu- 
rity, and apply the annual interest to the support of schools. The several towns 
became responsible to the State for the money and for its use ; also for its re- 
turn, and any portion of it, if called for under subsequent apportionments that 
might be made. This has and now seems to be a permanent fund, subject, 
however, to new apportionments that are liable to lessen the amount or pro- 
portion in some or all of the States. 

Schools of Early Days. — A great deal of criticism and wit has been ex- 
pended over our " old time schools." We hear from the critics and wits of the 
old school-house : " It was such a building," they say, " as the farmer of to- 
day would not house his cattle in." "The teacher was not qualified for his work ; 
he was paid seven or eight dollars a month in winter, and from fifty cents to a 
dollar a week in summer and boarded around." "The rod or the ferrule was 
his sceptre, with this he governed his school." " The government was arbitrary, 
the method of instruction was coarse, rude and dictatorial ; it was not such as 
to awaken the minds and hearts of pupils." 

The quotations in the preceding paragraph are taken from the writings of 
those who have assumed to instruct us in matters of education during this 
generation. While it is true that our school system has undergone a great 
change in the last forty years, and that the present system is far in advance of 
that under which the schools were conducted in this State for the first half 
century of its existence, every intelligent Vermonter will concede. Yet the 
tone of those criticisms of the old time school in Vermont are too often, as the 
writer believes, a slander upon the good people of Vermont who settled our 
State, founded our institutions, and led us on for fifty years with as true a pa- 
triotic purpose as ever existed in the hearts of men, and as intelligently as the 
light of their time would permit. Civilization has advanced, and schools, as a 
result, have advanced. Because our fathers did not establish the graded school 
and the long list of improvements found in our modern system, it furnishes no 
better reason for ridicule than the fact that the Vermont farmers used the 
clumsy wooden plow for the first half century after the settlement of the State. 
The farmers then used the best implements they had, and the best that the age 
could furnish. It was not their fault that the plow with the iron mould-board 
had not then come within their reach, or that the mowing-machine, which would 
cut as much grass in a given time as six men would with their scythes, had not 
been invented. 

Education, when treated historically, is a matter of growth, and rude as the 
earliest schools of Vermont were, I should bestow the larger meed of praise 
upon the founders of our institutions, and those who nourished and cared for 
them in the early part of our history. The truth stands out prominently in our 
early history that the people regarded ^the school as indispensable. For a 



Rutland County Educational Interests. 209 

school-house, if they could do no better, they built one of logs, hired a back 
room in some dwelling-house, or put up the best frame building they could — 
a school they ivould have. Aside from the support of Christianity, if there is 
anything in our history more important than any other, or more productive of 
good results, it is tne faithfulness and persistency of our fathers in projecting 
and sustaining the schools. 

One bright morning in May, 1820, I was ushered into a school-room in 
school district No. 2 in Middletown, the district in which my father then re- 
sided. The school-house was a small building, in size twenty by sixteen feet on 
the ground. It had its entrance on the north end which opened into a little 
room or passage-way five feet square, and this opened into a school-room 
of some fifteen feet square. The north end of the house, five feet in width 
contained the above entry room, the chimney and the girls' closet. I well re- 
member the appearance of this school-room as I entered it for the first time. 
It retained substantially the same appearance as long as I went to school 
there, which was until 1827, when my father was set to school district No. i, 
the village district. Writing benches, as they were then called, ran around on 
three sides of the room, fastened to the walls, and in front of them were rough 
benches of hard wood slabs, with legs as rough as the slabs. On these were 
seated the larger pupils, all old enough to write, and in the center of the room 
were lower seats conveniently arranged for the smaller scholars.^ In the front 
or north end of this room \\as a large fire-place, constructed of the best stone 
that could be obtained in the vicinity, not hewn or polished, but put in as they 
came from the field. From this fire-place the room was warmed in the winter. 
Wood was then plenty, and householder or party who sent to school furnished 
his portion, a quarter or half a cord to the scholar, as the vote of the district in 
school-meeting might be. The fire was first made by putting in a " back log," 
then a " forestick " on a pair of andirons and the space between filled up with 
small wood and kindlings. Such also was the way dwellings were heated at that 
time. I have in this description included all the furniture and all the fi.xtures 
of the school-house where I learned the ABC, and shall assume that this 
school-house was an average of the school- houses in Rutland county at the 
time I attended school there. I completed my common school education in 
the village school-house, which was no better than the other ; it was larger, as 
the village school had about eighty scholars in the winter term, and some less 
in the summer; there were about forty in winter and about twenty-five in 
summer in attendance at my first school while I attended there. No paint was 

lln the northeast corner of the room wa.? the teacher's desk, which might have cost fifty cents. 
On that desk lay a rule which belonged to the teacher, and over the fire-place on two nails driven in 
about two feet apart and on a level, rested " a twig of the wilderness," which, with the rule, was de- 
signed as a terror to evil doers. In the corner near the desk stood a broom, which was used once a 
day during the noon recess by one of the older girls attending the school, each taking her turn in 
sweeping the room. 
14 



History of Rutland County. 



ever put on either of those houses, inside or out, and both were ahke " open 
to the wind and the weather; " and from what I knew of other school-liouses 
in the town, and from what I afterwards learned of the school-houses outside, 
those two houses fairly represented the average school-house of Rutland 
county and of the State. 

But it should not be forgotten here that many of the best scholars and 
ablest men Vermont ever produced received their primary education in such 
buildings as I have described. I can count a score of men and more at the 
district schools with me who in after life distinguished themselves in the pro- 
fessions. The academy and the college were then more relied on for a 
" finish." 

School Improvements. — Improvement in our common school system in 
this State was not so rapid until after 1S40. Thomas H. Palmer, a former 
resident of Pittsford in this county, was the prime mover in bringing about a 
revision of the school laws of the State, and opening the way for the efficient 
system under which the public schools of the State are now conducted. Mr. 
Palmer was a native of Scotland, emigrated to Philadelphia when a mere boy, 
where he acquired a competence in book publishing, and retired from that 
business in 1S26, and removed to Pittsford. There he provided himself with 
a beautiful house, and gave himself to the literary pursuits and the cause of 
education. He took a deep interest at once in the schools of Pittsford, visited 
them often, offered suggestions to teachers and pupils, and often gave public 
lectures on this interest which lay near his heart. As early as 1850 he invited 
the teachers in the county, or those intending to teach, to meet him at Pitts- 
ford for what we may call a teachers' institute (what he called it I am not 
aware). They were usually held about two weeks. The exercises consisted 
of a review of the branches then taught in the common schools, with lectures 
on the various topics connected with the teacher's management of the school 
by Mr. Palmer. These institutes were held by Mr. Palmer once a year, usually 
in the fall, and proved of much utility. Mr. Palmer's efforts in the cause of 
education attracted attention in other parts of the State, and in the summer of 
1874 he was invited to Middlebury by Governor Slade, and there had an in- 
terview with the governor and president and professors of Middlebury College. 
In this consultation it was determined that an effort should be made to remodel 
the school laws of the State, and to that end a committee of Middlebury gen- 
tlemen was appointed to correspond with the influential friends of education 
about the State, and Mr. Palmer took upon himself to canvass the State per- 
sonally, which he did, lecturing in a number of towns. On the meeting of the 
Legislature of that year in October, petitions came from all parts of the State 
asking for more efficient school laws. Those petitions were f;ivorably received 
by the Legislature, and a law was passed which provided for an examination 
of teachers, and the supervision of schools. This was one step, but an impor- 



Rutland County Educational Interests. 



tant one, toward our present system. The Legislature of 1845 took another 
step in the same direction. It provided for a State superintendent of schools, 
and one or more superintendents in each town of the State. The State super- 
intendent to be elected by the Joint Assembly, and the town superintendents 
by the freemen of the several towns at their annual meetings in March. It 
provided for the examination of teachers, and made null and void all contracts 
for teaching between teachers and prudential committees of districts, unless the 
applicants had first procured certificates of qualification. 

In 1840 the Legislature, by an act of that year, provided that all the mon- 
eys raised by school districts for the payment of teachers' wages, be raised 
upon the grand list ; and moneys by a tax upon the scholars who attend school 
shall be appropriated only to defray the expenses of fuel and teachers' board. 
In this connection we may as well state tliat in 1864 the Legislature provided 
that " all expenses incurred by a school district in supporting schools in excess 
of public moneys received by the district shall be defrayed by a ta.x upon the 
grand list of the district." Such is the law in force now and will doubtless 
remain the law of Vermont. This makes a free school in the full sense of the 
term. A parent under this law has no more, no less, to pay whether he sends 
his children to school or allows them to run in the streets. 

A board of education was provided for in the State in 1856. That board 
was empowered to appoint a secretary and it had the general oversight of the 
schools until 1874, when the board was vacated by statute and a superintend- 
ent of education took its place. Since that time the State superintendent of 
schools and the town superintendents have had the supervision of the schools 
of the State. The State superintendent is required to hold teachers' institutes 
in each county, to give public lectures and, as far as practicable, to visit schools 
in companx' with the town superintendents. 

Nonnal ScJwols. — Mr. Palmer was a very enthusiastic advocate of normal 
schools, but he did not live to see them established; he died in 1861. The 
Legislature passed an act, which was approved November 17, 1866, which 
established a State Normal School. This act was amended in 1870, which 
appropriated $ 1,000 to each of the Normal Schools of the State, then estab- 
lished at Johnson, Randolph and Castleton, and extended the schools to 1880; 
this appropriation was afterward cut d(j\vn to $500. The act was subsequently 
amended, which extended the same to 1890. It will be understood that these 
schools are for the education of teachers. The State superintendent of educa- 
tion nominates and approves a principal teacher and first assistant for each 
Normal School and shall withdraw such approval when the interests of the 
school demand, and the principal provides for the discipline of the school. 
There are two courses of study in the Normal School, and are such as the 
trustees and the superintendent of education agree upon. The Normal Schools 
of the State, thus far, have been very well sustained and in effect have raised 



History of Rutland County. 



the standard of qualifications of teachers ; and especially has this been appar- 
ent to the friends of education in Rutland county, from the good work of the 
Castleton Normal School, of which A. E. Leavenworth is now and has been 
for several years the principal. 

Graded, High and Union Sclwols. — The establishment of graded schools in 
the larger towns has, perhaps, more than anything else indicated improvement 
in our schools and school system of the State. The law now in force provides 
for " graded schools," "district high schools," and " union schools.'' A graded 
school is defined as "a school maintained by the town, or school for not less 
than thirty weeks in each year, and consisting of four or more departments 
taught by four or more teachers, having an established course of study, and 
having all of the departments under the control of one principal teacher, shall 
be a graded school and be entitled to the privileges granted by law to graded 
schools." If the children of a school district are so numerous as to require 
more than one teacher, the district may, at a district meeting, vote to erect as 
many school-houses and to provide as many teachers as are necessary, and 
may direct the sciences or higher branches taught in one of those schools. 
This is the " district high school." 

" Contiguous school districts ma\' form a union district for the benefit of 
the older children of such districts by a two-thirds vote of each of the districts 
thus united." The older children who possess the qualifications prescribed b\' 
the prudential committee shall be permitted to enter the union school, or 
" union high school," as it is sometimes called ; and this is the union school. 

Changes and Conditions. — There has been a good deal of legislation in 
Vermont in the last forty years with a view to the improvement of schools. 
For this purpose the friends of education in the State have been very active in 
that time in procuring suitable legislation to raise the schools on a higher 
plane. Instruction is now much more thorough and effective in the common 
branches, and in many of the schools in Rutland county the higher branches 
are now taught successfully, and at the graded schools in Rutland and Bran- 
don young men are fitted for college, and all the higher schools are supported 
entire by tax on the grand list, as all public schools in the State are and have 
been since the act of 1864. 

A remarkable change has occurred in forty years in the character of our 
school buildings ; school- houses have been erected in Rutland county at a cost 
among the thousands. As I write now I can look out on a school-house in 
Poultney erected and furnished at a cost of over $12,000, and it would not be 
a wild estimate to say that the cost of this one house was more than all the 
school- houses in Rutland county were worth in 1820. The graded school 
buildings in Rutland and Brandon each must have considerably exceeded that 
sum in cost. In the towns of Castleton, Fairhaven, Pawlet, Wallingford and 
Pittsford we find excellent school-houses in the central districts and great im- 



The Press of Rutland County. 



provement throughout the count}' in school-house architecture, with few ex- 
ceptions. A great improvement also will be found in the style and furnishings 
of the school-rooms. No school-room is now expected to be without a black- 
board, and most of them have outline maps and some globes and other appa- 
ratus, for illustration and instruction. Suitable desks are also in general 
provided. 

Our school system seems now as perfect as it can be made ; yet it must be 
conceded that some of our schools in the " back districts " are still " behind 
the times " ; but this is not the fault of the existing system ; if there is a fault 
anywhere it lies with the people of those districts. What more can the State 
of Vermont do for schools than it is now doing ? It has provided a way to 
pay the entire expenses ; it educates competent teachers, but it cannot prevent 
by law the depopulation of the rural districts; but it has provided for the union 
of contiguous districts and, last of all, it has provided for the " town system," 
seemingl}' for the purpose of bringing within the reach of every child of every 
class an opportunity for acquiring a good common school education. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE PRESS OF RUTLAND COUNTY. 

The Early Press — First Paper in Rutland County — Sketch of its Proprietor — The Second Paper 
— The Rutland A'^ra/t/ — Sketches of Matthew Lyon, Judge Samuel Williams and Dr. Samuel Wil- 
liams— Succeeding Proprietors of the v¥f;-fl/rf— The First Daily Paper in the County— The Rural 
ATagazine — Other Rutland Journals — Newspapers of Fairhaven — Poultney Journals — Castleton 
Journalism — Brandon Newspapers — Danby and Wallingford Journals. 

IN a few 3'ears more the press of this county will have reached its centennial 
birthday. The press of this country has always closely followed in the steps 
of the pioneer and grown up side by side with the early school and church. 
To this fact we may reasonably attribute a considerable share of the general 
intelligence of our communities. 

The press of Rutland has ever held a commanding position in the affairs of 
the community, county and State, and some of the leading citizens have been 
at one time and another connected with newspaper work. Some have been 
men of marked ability, ranking high among their fellows, and occupying posi- 
tions of importance. The several newspapers established in Rutland have in 
the main recei\'ed a fair support during their existence, but a large majority 
" had their brief day, " and retired from one cause or another, or the misfortunes 
of their publishers. The first paper printed in Rutland was established by 
Anthony Haswell, and was called the Herald of Vermont or Rjitland Courier. 



214 History of Rutland County. 

It made its first appearance June i8, 1792, and when the fourteenth number 
was printed ready to be distributed the ensuing Monday a fire, on Sabbath 
evening, September 21, 1792, destroyed the office and most of the edition. 
The Legislature, which he met in Rutland a few weeks afterward, granted the 
unfortunate publisher a lottery, by which he was allowed to raise ^200 as a 
compensation for his loss, from which, however, he never derived any pecuniary 
benefit. 

Anthony Haswell was a prominent figure in Vermont in the latter part of 
the last century. He was born at Portsmouth, England, April 6, 1756, and 
came to Boston when about thirteen years of age, and served his apprentice- 
ship as printer with Isaiah Thomas. He established the Vermont Gazette at 
Bennington, June 5, 1783, which he continued with brief interruptions during 
his lifetime. In 1784 Vermont, then an independent government, established 
post-offices at Bennington, Rutland, Brattleboro, Windsor and Newbury. 
Anthony Haswell was appointed postmaster- general, with exclusive powers, 
his commission bearing date March 10, 1784. He held the office until the ad- 
mission of Vermont into the Union in 1791. He died at Bennington. 

On the I St day of April, 1793, James Lyon began the publication of the 
Farmer s Library or, Vermont Political and Historical Register. Although 
its name was so formidable, the size of the sheet was not very pretentious. 
Under the heading of the paper was the following: " A Political and Histori- 
cal paper, by John J. Lyon ; published every Monday near the State House, 
Rutland."! 

Mr. Lyon's salutatory is of sufficient interest to warrant its insertion here ; 
it reads as follows : — 

" The editor, having obtained subscriptions equal to the support of the pub- 
lication, returns his thanks to his patronizers for their encouragement, and pur- 
poses, under the auspices of the literati of Rutland and its vicinity, to supply 
them with a News Paper that shall merit the title ascribed to it. — He regrets, 
however, the present impossibility of obtaining paper of a suitable size, and is 
determined to enlarge it as soon as possible. 

" Not having a correspondence established with foreign printers it will not 
be in his power to furnish much foreign intelligence until the third or fourth 
number, until which time it is hoped the public will suspend its opinion of the 
publication. 

"Being about to establish a regular Post from Rutland to "Windsor, who 
will have a direct communication with the eastern mail, we shall soon have a 
regular chain of early intelligence from that quarter. " 

How eloquently this brief editorial speaks of the limited communication 
with the outer world enjoyed by the early inhabitants of the town ! 

1 It has been repeatedly stated in various prints that this paper was first published in F.iirhaven, 
either by Matthew or James Lyon. The facts are correctly stated above, being taken directly from 
the first number of the paper itself, which is in possession of Albert H. Tuttle, esq., of Rutland. 



The Press of Rutland County. 215 

The ownership and editorial control of this paper (which soon passed to 
other hands) has been ascribed to Matthew Lyon ; it is more than probable 
that he did edit the sheet or, at least, had much to do with it during the period 
when it was published by his son, James. The Lyons were from Fairhaven, 
where James advertises " writing paper manufactured at Fairhaven, " in the 
Herald in 1794. The paper in question was printed for about eighteen months, 
when on the 29th of November, 1794, it was purchased by Judge Samuel Wil- 
liams and Rev. Samuel Williams, LL.D., the Vermont historian, and the 
name changed to The Rutland Herald or, I'ermont Mercury. In the first 
number the proprietors announced that "as we have purchased of Mr. Lyon, 
editor of the Farmer s Library, the Printing Office, Apparatus, and pri\'ileges 
annexed by law to his Paper, it will for the future be carried on by the sub- 
scribers, with the above title, under the direction of Dr. Williams 

The price of the Herald will be nine shillings per annum to those to whom we 
send the paper ourselves; seven shillings and sixpence to those who call at the 
office and take them. " ^ 

Matthew Lyon was a native of Ireland and came to this country a poor 
boy, thirteen years of age ; from Connecticut he made his way to Vermont, 
making his settlement at Arlington, which he represented in 1779 to 1782. 
He removed to Fairhaven in 1783. He was the pioneer of that town in the 
use of its water power, and was its leading spirit for years. He was chosen to 
Congress in 1796. He was a bold intrepid man, and withal a man of great 
natural ability. He had several hand to hand fist fights with his brother mem- 
bers of Congress, preferring, as he said, to settle his disputes on the spot, and 
thrash his opponent instead of shooting him. He removed to Kentucky and 
was member from that State ; he was also re- elected to Congress, and afterward 
chosen the first delegate to Congress from Arkansas, but died before taking 
his seat, August i, 1822, near Little Rock. 

Matthew Lyon's connection with other publications in this county, and the 
connection of his son James with the press will be noticed a little further on. 

Although of the same name, the two Williamses, proprietors of the Herald, 
were not related. The Rev. Samuel Williams became the editor, and Judge 
Samuel Williams managed the business. A more than ordinary notice should 
be made at this point of Rev. Dr. Williams, the editor. In that period few 
editorials were written, but those that appeared were of a conservative political 
character, and no particular policy was marked out, but veering from one side 
to the other, and by expressing no marked or decided opinions upon the cur- 
rent topics of the day. The political policy of the paper at that time, when an 
opinion was given, we apprehend was shaped by Judge Samuel Williams, who 
was a prominent and ardent politician in his day. The editorial comments 

1 It is good evidence that James Lyon had at least the business control of the Farmer's Library, 
for the accounts were in' his possession, as evidenced by his calling for payment on them in the second 
number of the Herald, in December, 1 794. 



2i6 History of Rutland County. 

were generally brief, and upon historical, scientific and religious subjects. Dr. 
Williams was undoubtedly the most learned man in Vermont in his day, and 
for his labors and influence in behalf of education and religion, he was also one 
of the most useful. 

Rev. Samuel Williams was a native of Waltham, Mass., born April 23, 1743. 
He was a grandson of Rev. John Williams, of Deerfield, Mass., who was taken 
into captivity by the Indians, and carried to Montreal, and was the author of 
the Redeemed Captive an interesting narrative of his adventures, a book now 
very scarce, and which brings an almost fabulous price among book col- 
lectors and antiquarians. Dr. Williams graduated at Harvard University in 
1761. He was ordained minister of the church at Bradford, Mass., November 
20, 1765, and continued its pastor until 1780. Rev. John D. Kingsbury, son- 
in-law of Hon. William M. Field, is now pastor of the same church. He was 
Hollis professor of mathematics in Harvard University from 1780 to 1788, 
when he removed to Rutland and was pastor of the Congregational Church, 
from 1789 to 1795. Dr. Williams was chaplain to the Legislature, 
and preached the election sermon in 1794. He preached for a time at Bur- 
lington, and was one of the founders of the University of Vermont, and for a 
time a professor in the institution. He surveyed the west boundary of Mas- 
sachusetts in 1786, and also the boundary of Vermont. He was eminent as 
a scientist and was a fellow of the American Academy of Sciences, American 
Philosophical Society, and German Literary and Scientific Societies. His sci- 
entific attainments were known in Europe, and the honorary degree of LL. D. 
was conferred on him by Edinburgh University. He published the Natural 
and Civil History of Vermont in 1794, and an enlarged edition, two volumes, 
in 1809. During his residence at Bradford, Mass., Benjamin Thompson, after- 
wards Count Rumford, studied philosophy under him, and was a member of 
his family, and corresponded with him on scientific subjects until 1791. For 
the information of the present generation of Rutland, who know very little of 
this eminent man, we give an estimate of him, written by John A. Graham, of 
London, who was a resident of Rutland for a time preceding 1797. Graham 
says : " Of Samuel Williams, LL. D., member of the Meteorological Society, 
in Germany, ... it maj' with propriety be said that he is the most enlight- 
ened man in the State, in every branch of phiIosoph\- and polite learning, and 
it is doing him no more than justice to say there are very few in the United 
States possessed of greater abilities, or more extensive information ; added to 
which he is a most excellent orator and speaks in a manner best adapted to the 
understanding and capacity of those whom he addresses. In the year 1794 
the doctor wrote and published the natural history of Vermont, executed much 
to his honor and to the satisfaction of all naturalists. In politeness, grace and 
elegance of manners, Dr. Williams is not inferior to the most polished English 
gentleman." 



The Press of Rutland County. 



He died in Rutland, January 2, 1817, and is buried in the old North Cem- 
etery. He left several children, one of whom was Charles K. Williams, chief 
justice and governor of Vermont. Judge Samuel Williams, of whom mention 
has been made as one of the first publishers of the Rutland Herald, was a na- 
ti\'e of Massachusetts and came to Rutland at an early date, previous to 1780. 
The writer has been unable to find but little relative to his early life. He was 
a man of prominence in the civil and political affairs of the town and county. 
He was selectman from 1783 to 17S7 ; town clerk from 178810 1797, and 
representative in 1798 and 1799. He was a judge of the Rutland County Court 
from 1790 to 1798, eight years. He was also a candidate for Congress against 
Matthew Lyon in 1799, and received the vote of Rutland. It will be seen from 
this list that he was a leader among the early men of the town. He died in 
Rutland and also has his grave in the old North Cemetery. 

The Herald \\3lS, at this period, as we are informed by the imprint, "printed 
on Mondays by J. Kirkaldie for S. Williams & Co., in the Main street a few 
rods north of the State-House." 

The early files of the Herald are, unfortunately for history, sadly incom- 
plete and, although it is generally believed that William Fay was the ne.xt pub- 
lisher of the paper, we have found some evidence that there was another change 
in the firm previous to his accession. Shut in among the leaves of the first vol- 
ume of the Herald file in Mr. Tuttle's possession, is an original article of agree- 
ment between Samuel Williams and Josiah Fay, who was undoubtedly the 
father or a brother of William Fay. This old article is dated in February, 1797, 
and is to the effect that Josiah Fay, of Windsor, became a partner of Samuel 
Williams in the printing and publishing business, Fay agreeing " to work faith- 
fully at case and press," etc. Dr. Williams, having leased one-half of the office 
from his partner, Samuel Williams, Fay agreed to pay $25 on that considera- 
tion. A subsequent agreement continued this partnership to August, 1 798. 
The agreement was witnessed by William Fay. How long this partnership 
continued we have no means of knowing; but it was very early in the present 
century that William Fay became the sole publisher of the Herald. He was a 
young man at the time. In 18 1 7 Fay took as a partner Gideon M. Davison, 
and later in the same year Charles Burt came into the business, the firm being 
Fay, Davison & Burt. At the end of the year both Mr. Davison and Mr. Burt 
retired and Fay continued the publication until 1827, when he sold out to 
E. C. Purdy. 

During the period of Mr. Fay's ownership of the Herald the general man- 
agement of its columns fell almost entirely into his hands, and its conduct 
showed him a man of careful judgment and attention to his business. The 
paper was made up of miscellany, general news, and occasional contributions 
on political and local topics. A few articles appeared from the pen of Edgar 
L. Ormsbee, then a promising young lawyer, who afterward stood in the front 
rank at the Rutland county bar. 



History of Rutland County. 



William Fay was a business man in the strictest sense, economical in man- 
agement, and somewhat of a newsgatherer in that period, but never wrote arti- 
cles to any extent. He entered very little into politics. If political articles 
appeared in the paper they were in the form of communications, frequently in 
the way of discussion between adherents of the two political parties or the can- 
didates themselves as anonymous communications. The custom at that day 
was for candidates to present their claims through the columns of the press, 
while at the South the candidate personally appeared upon the platform. Mr. 
Fay, while liberal in opening his columns to the contending parties, had de- 
cided convictions of his own and personally stood by the party of his choice. 
An honest, diligent man, he secured for himself a competence and had the en- 
tire respect and confidence of the people. He died in 1839 at an advanced 
age, enjoying the regard of the community. 

Gideon Miner Davison was a native of Middletown, in this county, and be- 
came an apprentice to Mr. Fay, and finally through the aid of friends became 
a partner with him. About 1820 he left Rutland and removed to Saratoga 
Springs, then just assuming importance because of the development of its min- 
eral springs. He established and published a paper until 1840, when, having 
accumulated a fortune from his paper and other successful enterprises, he 
retired from newspaper work and engaged in business enterprises, notably the 
securing of railroad connections with Saratoga, with whose prosperity he was 
prominently identified. To him possibly the foundation of Saratoga as a na- 
tional watering place is fully as much due as to any one individual. He- became 
president of the Rensselaer and Saratoga Railroad at its first organization, and 
held the position for many years after its completion to Saratoga and its exten- 
sion to Whitehall, and was succeeded by George N. Schuyler, of infamous rail- 
road fame. Mr. Davison retired to private life several years previous to his 
death and enjoyed the fruits of his successful labors. He died at Saratoga in 
1870 at an advanced age. 

Charles Burt was a son of Leonard Burt and was born in Bellows Falls in 
1791, coming to Rutland in 1813. After his retirement from the printing busi- 
ness he became one of the prominent merchants of the place. (See history of 
town of Rutland). 

E. C. Purdy published the Herald until 1831, when the establishment was 
sold to Ephraim Maxham. Mr. Purdy was a writer of some ability and occa- 
sionally original articles appeared from his pen. He enlarged and otherwise 
improved the paper and put into it some new vigor and life. After publishing 
it two years he went to Boston and established the Boston JSIail, and was suc- 
cessful in acquiring a fortune, and his later years were passed in retirement. 
He often visited Rutland and was well known to many of the older citizens. 
For many years he spent his summers at Clarendon Springs and often gave in- 
teresting reminiscences of early, in contrast with the present, Rutland. He 
died at Somerville, near Boston, at the age of seventy- eight years. 



The Press of Rutland County. 219 

Ephraim Maxham published the paper in 1831-32 alone and in 1833 took 
in as a partner the man who was destined to stand at the helm through the 
most important and successful period of the history of the journal — George A. 
Tuttle. Mr. Maxham was an invalid, but possessed excellent mental qualities. 
The firm continued until a few weeks previous to April, 1834, at which time 
Mr. Tuttle took the entire establishment. Through a series of circumstances, 
which must be credited to others, he was forced to sacrifice whatever interest 
he had acquired, and on the 12th of April left the paper to remove to Ludlow, 
where he established a paper. At this time William Fay again became pub- 
lisher of the Herald, continuing to 1838. 

During a portion of the period of William P"ay's ownership, alone or with 
others, the office was in a building on Main street, afterwards used by Gershom 
Cheney as a dwelling, a little north of West street. It was afterwards moved 
to a building that was subsequently removed to make the opening of Center 
street into Main street. The office was removed down town in 1864. 

After the death of William Fay, the long-time proprietor, the Herald passed 
into the control of White, Everson & Co., and later the firm became Horace T. 
White & Co., and the two firms published the paper from 1839 to 1842. In 
1843 't was published by White & Guernsey. During the last administration 
George H. Beaman became the principal editorial writer. Horace T. White 
was then a young man, and a son-in-law of William Fa3% as was also the late 
United States Senator Solomon Foot, who was also more or less identified with 
the paper during Mr. White's incumbency. Mr. White was afterward a pub- 
lisher at Bennington for many years, but the later years of his life were spent 
as a clerk in one of the government departments at Washington, where he died 
a few years ago. M. A. Guernsey did not continue long with the paper. He 
was the inventor of a somewhat celebrated printing-press known as the Guern- 
sey press, and his later life was devoted to its manufacture, from which he 
secured an ample reward pecuniarily. Mr. Guernsey died several years ago. 

In 1 85 I the Herald passed into the possession of George H. Beaman, as 
publisher and editor. It was during Mr. Beaman's administration that distinc- 
tive editorials began to appear in the Herald. He was a vigorous, cogent and 
able writer, and his contributions attracted wide attention, and the journal held 
front rank in the press of the State. He had control of the paper until 1854. 
George H. Beaman was a native of Poultney and for many years proprietor of 
the Franklin Hotel on Main street, previous to becoming an editor. He had 
a large acquaintance with the prominent men of the State and was a close ob- 
server of current affairs, which peculiarity fitted him as a writer at that period. 
He was a member of the celebrated Whig convention in 1844. He was secre- 
tary of civil and military affairs in 1844-46, during the governorship of William 
Slade. Mr. Beaman years ago retired from editorial work, but has occasionally 
written vigorous articles for the press on different topics. His last public con- 



History of Rutland County. 



tribution was a paper on " Old Taverns," read at the centennial of Rutland 
county in 1881, and was published. Mr. Beaman still resides at Center Rut- 
land. 

The paper, in 1855, was purchased b\' Chauncey H. Hayden, and edited by 
him and published by George A. Tuttle & Co. In the latter part of the year 
of 1856 he sold his interest in the paper and removed to St. Albans, where he 
published the IVee^/j Messenger for several years. Mr. Hayden was born in 
Randolph, Vt., and graduated at the University of Vermont in 1848. He was 
secretary of civil and military affairs during the administration of Governor 
Stephen Royce, in 1854 and 1856. He also represented St. Albans in the 
Legislature. He died of consumption at St. Albans about i860. 

In 1856 George A. Tuttle & Co. published the paper and it has continued 
in possession of himself or a member of the family to the present time. George 
A. Tuttle & Co. owned the paper until 1862, when Charles M. Gay became a 
partner, who continued until 1867, when Tuttle & Co. purchased his interest 
and carried it on until February, 1872, when Albert H. Tuttle became sole pro- 
prietor. In 1873 L. W. Redington became associated with Mr. Tuttle. In 
1875 Rev. S. B. Pettengill and W. P. Winslow joined with A. H. Tuttle and 
formed the Herald Association. Mr. Winslow died and the paper was con- 
ducted b)- the surviving partners until September, 1877, when the Herald and 
Globe Association was formed, and the Globe (which see) consolidated with the 
Herald. Albert H. Tuttle assumed the position of principal manager of the en- 
tire establishment and still retains the important office. The president of the 
company at the present time is Joel C. Baker. 

The first daily paper published in the county was issued April 29, 1861. It 
was a necessity, growing out of the desire for prompt news of the doings on 
the field of battle^ and was looked upon by its projectors in the light of a pos- 
sible brief experiment ; but it seemed to be just what the people had been 
waiting for; it was ably edited, energetic in the pursuit of late news, and long 
before the end of the war had become, chiefly through the efforts of George A. 
Tuttle, a firmly-established and popular success. The editorial staff of the 
Herald at the present time comprises Robert A. Perkins, a recent acquisition 
(since February, 1885), w^ho is managing editor, under Mr. Tuttle; Lucius 
Bigelow, who has been connected with the paper for five years past and writes 
most of the political and general editorials ; D. B. Howland, also recently en- 
gaged, local editor, and David M. Baxter and Edward H. Fox, assistants. The 
Herald was originally a Whig organ, and has, since the organization of the 
Republican party, faithfully and consistently upheld the doctrines of that par- 
ty ; it has always wielded a powerful influence throughout the State. 

No other man accomplished so much towards giving the Herald more than 
a local reputation as George A. Tuttle. The paper was his pride and all his 
energies, often to his own personal loss, were devoted to its success. Mr. Tut- 



The Press of Rutland County. 



tie was a son of Noah Tuttle, of Castleton, one of the pioneers of 1798 in that 
town, whither he went from North Haven, Conn. Noah was a mason and 
farmer and a man of more than ordinary inteUigence and capacity. George A. 
Tuttle received his early education in the common schools only, from which 
he graduated before he was sixteen years old to the country printing-office — 
often a better school than man}' so-called educational institutions. He was 
scarcely sixteen years old when he first became a partner in the Rutland Her- 
ald office, as before noticed, and from the date when he took an interest in it 
for the second time, he made its upbuilding his life-work. Like many other 
journalists whose ambition has been centered in their publications, he gave 
freeh- of his time and talents for the advancement of others, at the same time 
declining public office and emolument for himself; and there is many a man 
of political and social prominence in the State to-day, who owes his station 
largeh- to the influence of Mr. Tuttle and his journal. He was a vigorous, 
terse and candid writer, whose expressions had the strength of truthfulness and 
were inspired by a spirit of earnestness that gave them weight. Mr. Tuttle 
died January 4, 18S5. 

The next publication that demands attention is the Rural Magazine or 
Vcrtnont Repository, edited by Rev. Samuel Williams. In man)' regards this 
was the most important and valuable publication ever issued in Vermont. It 
is held in such esteem at the present day, in a historical point of view, that the 
two volumes issued readily sell for $50, in fact $75 was paid for a copy a few 
years ago for the library of the British Museum, in London. The work is very 
scarce, but is largely sought for by collectors, libraries and historical societies. 
Its reprint has been frequently proposed. It gives an interior view, found no- 
where else, of the early New England and Vermont history, and in fact of the 
country, with editorial comments by Dr. Williams, who was one of the best 
historians and profoundest thinkers of his time. As a full survey of the con- 
tents has never yet been written, it may be well, in fact it is important, that it 
should now be done for the information of the public. 

The first number was issued in January, 1795. The last was issued in De- 
cember, 1796. It was devoted to literary, moral, historical, and political im- 
provements. It bore the Latin motto, "Hoc itndiqite jura Cougruutur," printed 
by J. Kirkaldie for S. Williams & Co., a few rods north of the State-House. The 
preface to this publication is unique and sensible and could with great propriety 
be adopted by many modern publishers. An extract will indicate its tenor : — 

" In compiling the Rural Magaciuc, the design of the editor is to prepare 
such literary, moral and historical collections as may prove instructive and en- 
tertaining to the reader. In this collection, what we have most of all in view, 
is such original papers, historical and political documents, literary, civil and 
ecclesiastical transactions, as relate more immediately to the affairs and citi- 
zens of Vermont. By collecting and preserving such papers and proceedings 



History of Rutland County. 



we hope to exhibit to the public a general account and views of the state and 
progress of society in this part of the Federal Union. It would not be decent 
or safe for the editor to make high declarations and promises, with regard to 
the manner in which the work will be executed. All that he will venture to 
engage is to make a serious attempt to compile as useful a magazine as shall 
be in his power. Every composition designed for the people, will, eventually 
take its character from its utility; and its utility will be ascertained by the re- 
ception which it meets from the people. By this standard the merits of the 
work will be e.Kamined, and its continuance or discontinuance will be deter- 
mined. That which the people do not esteem cannot be very useful to them ; 
and in any writings which meet their expectation, an author will always find 
in the public esteem and encouragement, the proper and adequate reward for 
his labors." 

The historical articles in the Rural Magazine are of immense value to the 
historical student, and many of them liave been reprinted in pamphlet form. 
Dr. Williams, not receiving sufficient encouragement, discontinued its publica- 
tion in December, 1796, and now, ninety years distant, it bears the largest price 
of any volume published in the early history of the country. 

In 1802 an independent weekly called the Vermont Mercury was started 
by Stephen Hodgman. It continued but a short time. 

In 1808 Thomas M. Pomeroy established the Vermont Courier, the first 
number of which was issued July 25, and was continued until Ma)-, 1810. 

The Rutland Republican, published by Simeon Locke, was first issued Au- 
gust 29, 1848. It was published but a short time. It had for its motto, " Free 
Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor and Free Men." 

The Vermont Union. Whig, published at Rutland and Brandon. William 
C. Conant was editor at Rutland, and Samuel M. Conant at Brandon. The 
first number issued in Brandon was in 1847. It was a home newspaper, de- 
voted to politics and literature. The first steam printing-press ever in use in 
Rutland was used for the first time in printing the initial number of this paper. 
It was published about a year and died. 

H. Fletcher Potter, a resident of Poultney, began the publication of a news- 
paper in Rutland, in Januar)', 1855, called the Guard of American Liberty. 
It was devoted to " Know-Nothingism." It ended its existence after the elec- 
tion in September of that year. 

The Rutland Courier began its publication August 12, 1857, by John Cain 
and James K. McLean proprietors, with John Cain as editor. The last num- 
ber was issued April 14, 1872. Mr. McLean continued with the paper for 
several years, when he sold out and it was continued by Mr. Cain, when it was 
sold to the Globe Paper Company and discontinued as an individual paper. 

This journal under the leadership of John Cain was a fearless and vigor- 
ous one in the expression of political and individual opinions. It was the or- 




^^^^-^^ (r)^;i^^-<^ 



The Press of Rutland County. 223 

gan of the Democratic party in Western Vermont. Local issues were dis- 
cussed with a bold and unsparing hand, and the editor at times perhaps al- 
lowed his partisan and personal feelings to carry his pen beyond the bounds of 
discretion and at times produced for himself enmity. The paper, however, 
was a timely reflex of the editor's views and position upon all public questions, 
national and local. He was held in regard by his fellow journalists of the State 
and he frequently contributed spice and rhyme to the festive gatherings of the 
craft. 

John Cain was born at Castletown, Isle of Man, January 28, 1S09. He 
received the education afforded to the masses of the people of that island. 
He came to this country in 1832 and settled in Rutland. He was an architect 
and builder by occupation. He became a citizen of the United States soon 
after his settlement, and espoused the Democratic views of Jefferson and Jack- 
son, and valiantly defended the doctrines of that party and became prominent 
in its ranks. He was a delegate to four National Conventions of two parties, 
and postmaster of Rutland under the administrations of Franklin Pierce and 
James Buchanan and was twice the candidate of his party for Congress. He 
was closely identified with the interests of Rutland for a quarter of a century 
and held se\'eral positions of trust in the local government. As a selectman 
he was prudent and economical, and as lister he endeavored to make the burdens 
of ta.xation fall upon all alike according to the property held by them, never 
avoiding the full measure of responsibility. He fearlessly performed the duties 
of the office of grand juror in accordance with a strict construction of the stat- 
utes, turning neither to the right or left for. friend or foe. He administered the 
office of justice of the peace with great intelligence and good judgment He 
was superintendent of the construction of the United States court-house and 
post-office, the town hall and freight depot. He was greatly interested for the 
building of the Rutland and Woodstock Railroad, and was president of that cor- 
poration, and had connection with the first survey and construction of the Rut- 
land and Burlington road. He was disposed to be a controversialist in the press, 
politics and public affairs, and his ardent temperament involved many personal 
enmities. He was a warm friend and bitter opponent. He was genial and 
social in his intercourse with his fellows and enjoyed society. An energetic, 
public-spirited citizen, he accomplished a good work in the promotion of the 
business and welfare of his adopted home. He died March 17, 1S80, aged 
seventy-one years. 

In July, 1858, What's the News, a monthly paper, was commenced by 
William A. Bacon, and was published only a few months. 

JuK' 21, 1866, The Rutland County Independent was established by James 
K. McLean and Thomas C. Robbins. An initial number was issued Jul\- 4 
1866. The first regular number appeared Jul\- 21. The second volume the 
name given was Rutland Independent. After two or three years Mr. Robbins 



224 History of Rutland County. 

witlidrew from the paper, and in April, 1873, it was sold to the Globe Paper 
Company and consolidated with the Rutland Globe, in which the proprietor 
became financially interested and superintendent. Among the editorial writers 
of the Independent were Dr. Charles Woodhouse, Dr. Middleton Goldsmith, 
George H. Beaman. James K. McLean was a practical printer of large ex- 
perience and oftentimes wrote for his paper. He was for several years fore- 
man of the Daily Herald ^.wA other papers. He died in 1875 of consumption. 
Thomas C. Robbins is a native of Maine and came to Rutland from Massa- 
chusetts, and engaged in the printing business. Since his retirement he has 
occupied several positions of trust — deputy county clerk, register of probate, 
assessor of internal revenue, and is now the judge of probate for the district of 
Rutland. 

James H. Lansley published, during a few months of 1870, a weekly called 
The Marble City Mirror. In January, 1870, an amateur paper called Tlie 
Rutland Times, was issued by McLean & Aiken, the editor being Frank Mc- 
Lean, now a Rutland job printer. It was discontinued in November, 1871. 
The ]'eriiiout Mason, a monthly, was published by Henry Clark from May, 
1 87 1, to May, 1873, when it was discontinued. The Biblical Messenger, a 
monthly, was started by Rev. A. A. Hoyt, of the Advent Church, in 1872, 
and discontinued after a few issues. 

At the session of the General Assembly in 1872 a charter was granted for 
the organization of a corporation for the purpose of publishing a newspaper 
and doing a general printing business. This charter not meeting the views of 
all parties interested, a company was organized in February, 1873, by the 
general laws of the State, under the name of the " Globe Paper Company," 
for similar purposes. A general printing-office was established, and the Rut- 
land Independent and Rutland Courier, two weekly papers, were purchased. 
A daily and weekly paper was established called The Rutland Globe. The 
first number was issued May I, 1873. It was an independent journal, sur- 
rounded by Republican influences. It was conducted in this spirit during its 
existence. The first editor was Orion Clemens, who had previously been ed- 
itor of the Hartford, Conn., Post, with Henry Clark as associate editor. Af- 
ter a few months Mr. Clemens resigned. The late Chauncey K. Williams 
then became the chief editorial writer. The paper attained a large list of sub- 
scribers and the editorials were notable for fairness and independence. As a 
newspaper it was a marked success, but a financial failure, and was sold to 
the Herald Association, as before stated, its last issue appearing September i, 
1877. Chauncey K. Williams, the able editorial writer for a major part of its 
publication, was a son of ex-Governor Charles K. Williams. He was a grad- 
uate of Williams College, and entered the profession of law, practicing at Rut- 
land and Flint, Michigan. He had written for, and been associated with, the 
press from early life, and was a writer of clear and comprehensive thought. 




^^/^fyiylyLAy ^^^^^^^tJ^^ 



The Press of Rutland County. 225 

He was a historical writer of great research and made nian_\- \ahiable 
contributions to historical and other magazines. Mr. WiUiams died sud- 
denly in January, 1880. Among those who were connected with the editorial 
department of the Globe were Henry Clark, Seneca M. Dorr, George H. Owen, 
Solon E. Carpenter, and E. Hamilton Ormsbee. 

A paper called the Ridland Leader was commenced January i, 1877, by 
Henry Clark, who continued its publication until September i, 1879, when it 
was sold to James L. MacArthur, and was changed by him tn the Rutland 
Daily and Weekly Times, which see below. 

On the 1st of January, 1878, Vincent C. Meyerhoffer began the publica- 
tion of a distinctive Democratic paper called the Rutland Inquirer, as the organ 
of that party in Western Vermont. Horace W. Love, in October, 1879, pur- 
chased the paper and consolidated it with the Rutland Revieiv. 

On the 2d of April, 1878, Horace W. Love established the Sunday Re- 
view. Under this name it was continued about a year, and then changed to 
the Saturday Evening Review, and when the Inquirer was consolidated with 
it the name given was the Review -Inquirer. After August 5, 1880, the two 
papers were separated on account of business complications, and from that date 
the Reviezv and Inquirer were published as separate papers ; the former by 
H, W. Love, and the latter by L. W. Redington. The Reviezv is now issued 
w\\.\\ a weekly and Sunday edition, by the " Review Company," of which 
Charles Sheldon is president, and B. W. Marshall, treasurer and manager. 
The paper is ably edited, and enjoys a large circulation. 

September i, 1879, the Rutland Times, a daily and weekly, was com- 
menced by James L. MacArthur. It was issued as an evening paper for about 
three weeks when, on account of business embarrassments of the publisher, it 
was discontinued. 

The Inquirer, above mentioned, was purchased by George E. Richardson, 
who suspended its publication in 1881, and on September i of that year he 
started the Rutland Standard SiS an independent weekly. This paper was con- 
tinued b\- him until August 15, 1885, when the establishment was leased to 
James Carruthers. Mr. Carruthers is a practical printer with twelve years ex- 
perience ; was city editor of the L)'nn Transcript three years, and subse- 
quently associated with D. B. Howland in publishing the Hampshire daily and 
weekly Herald hom February 1884, to July, 1S85. He has inaugurated rad- 
ical changes in the editorial conduct of the Standard and is making a good 
paper. 

The Vermont Baptist was founded in March, 1879, by Rev. Justin K. Rich- 
ardson, and is still published. It is a monthly publication, de\otcd to the in- 
terests of the Baptist denomination in Vermont. 

The history of newspapers printed in Rutland completed, we shall now 
sketch those in the other towns of the county, viz., Brandon, Castleton, Fair- 
haven, Danby, Poultney and Wallingford. i'"" 



226 History of Rutland County. 

FairJiavcn. — Matthew Lyon began the publication of a newspaper in 1794, 
called the Fairhaven Gazette, which was printed by his son, James Lyon, and 
Judah D. Spooner. There were at the time but three other papers printed in the 
State ; the Gazette at Bennington, the Herald at Rutland, and Journal at 
Windsor. Matthew Lyon was an ardent politician of his day. He issued 
this as a political sheet for the advancement of his own interests, he at that 
time being a candidate for Congress, presenting himself as "the representative 
of commercial, agricultural and manufacturing interests in preference to any of 
their law characters," from the admission of the State into the Union, in 
March, 1791, until his election on the fourth trial in 1796. James Lyon learned 
the art of printing in Philadelphia. He was an active business man ; was post- 
master at Fairhaven in 1798 ; he engaged in shipbuilding in Eddyville, Ken- 
tucky, and died poor in South Carolina in 1824. 

This paper was succeeded hy \.\\& Fanners Library, or Fairhaven Telegraph, 
a Republican paper, printed by J. D. Spooner and William Hennessey, at Fair- 
haven, Vt. The first number was issued July 25, 1795. Mr. Hennessey re- 
tired from the paper in March, 1796, and Mr. Spooner continued its publica- 
tion. It was a Democretic paper and supported Colonel Matthew Lyon for 
Congress. In those daj's every newspaper had its motto. The motto of Mr. 
Spooner's paper was: "The freedom of the people cannot be supported with- 
out knowledge and industry." The name of the paper was changed in 1797 to 
The Farmers Library anel Neiv York Lntelligeneer, and continued to about the 
close of the year 1798. A. JN. Adams, in his excellent history of F"airhaven, 
notes several advertisements which sound strange in these days, and with a view 
of giving an idea of the crude method of public advertising in those days, a 
few specimens are given. In those da\s newspapers were not sent through 
the mails, but by post-riders, as the}- were called, who went through the coun- 
try and delivered the papers to each house, giving warning of their approach 
through the thickly settled neighborhood or village by blowing a tin horn. To 
illustrate, we give a copy of an advertisement published in 1798, which reads 
as follows : — 

" Mr. Jeremy Dwyer proposes to ride from the printing-ofiice in Fairhaven, 
to carry newspapers through Castleton, by the old fort, thence through Hub- 
bardton, Sudbury, Whiting and Cornwall to Middlebury Falls ; thence to re- 
turn through the westerly part of Cornwall, Whiting and Sudbury, and the east 
part of Shoreham, Orwell, Benson and Westhaven, every other week to re- 
verse the route. Any person on his route wishing for papers from Benning- 
ton, Rutland, Albany or Lansingburgh, or the Rural Repository, printed at 
Rutland, shall have them delivered on reasonable terms." 

There was competition in this business even at that date, and Orren Kel- 
sey advertised as follows: " To carry newspapers from the printing- office in 
Fairhaven through Westhaven, Benson, Orwell, Shoreham, Bridport, Addison, 
Panton and Ferrisburgh." 



The Press of Rutland County. 227 

The publication of lists of letters in that day in the newspapers was a cus- 
tom, because but few towns had a post-office. In January, 1798, James Lyon, 
then postmaster at Fairhaven, published a list of letters remaining in that post- 
office January 1st, among which are letters for persons in Poultney, Middle- 
town, Granville, Pawlet and New Hartford, which is now Hartford, N. Y. 

Among the items of news in the same paper is " that an extensive band of 
thieves, who had troubled the neighborhood, had been broken up and the cul- 
prits punished — one of them by whipping." 

As an illustration of the political spirit of the times, and the independence 
of Matthew Lyon, we quote the following: " Much has been said about the 
French council of the ancients ordering a Quaker to be turned out of their 
house for obstinately persisting in keeping on his hat contrary to the rules of 
the house. The high-flying federalists in this country reprobate their conduct 
and call it persecution, and yet would oblige Citizen Lyon, one of the members 
of the House of Representatives, to be dragged in procession before the presi- 
dent, although he has repeatedly declared that it was against his conscience 
and opinion to join in that ceremonial." 

As a matter of history, although foreign to the purpose of this series of 
articles, an explanation should be made of the allusion made in the sentence, 
" Citizen Lyon, one of the members of the House of Representatives, etc." In 
1798 Colonel Matthew L}-on, then a candidate for Congress, was tried for an 
alleged offense under the famous " sedition law," in the United States Circuit 
Court at Rutland, in October, 1788, and was subsequently imprisoned in jail 
at Vergennes, exciting a degree of feeling that has never since been exceeded 
in any political struggle. He was then representative from the western district 
of Vermont in Congress ; at the election held on the first Tuesday of December, 
1798 (no choice having been made at the election in the previous September), 
he was elected by a decisive majority, although then confined in jail at Ver- 
gennes under his sentence. Colonel Lyon was the Democratic candidate and 
Judge Samuel Williams, of Rutland, was the Federal candidate. A procession 
of some 400 citizens, from this and Addison county, went on horseback to Ver- 
gennes on the expiration of Colonel Lyon's term of four months imprisonment 
in 1799, and escorted him from the jail to his residence in Fairhaven. To save 
another arrest, he immediately proclaimed himself on his way to Philadelphia, 
as a Member of Congress. On his arrival at Bennington he was formally ad- 
dressed and a banquet given in his honor. An cftbrt was made to expel him 
from Congress but without success. 

October l, 1798, The Scourge of Aristocyacy and Repository of Iinportant 
Political Trjitlis was commenced by James L\-on and was continued one year. 
It was a duodecimo magazine published semi-monthly. Matthew L\on was 
then running for Congress, and the Rutland Herald, under Dr. Samuel Will- 
iams, refused to publish communications in his favor. This magazine con- 



History of Rutland County. 



tained several communications from Colonel Lyon. The subscription price was 
$3.00. The second number contained Matthew Lyon's celebrated letter to 
Colonel Stevens T. Mason, Senator from Virginia, written by him October 14, 
1798, while a prisoner in jail at Vergennes. This publication is in great de- 
mand by antiquarians and fabulous prices are offered for it. But few copies are 
in existence in Vermont. One is in the library of the Vermont Historical So- 
ciety at Montpelier, one in the Fletcher library at Burlington, one owned by 
A. N. Adams, of Fairhaven, one in the library of William Clogston, at Spring- 
field, Mass., and one in the possession of Henry Clark, of Rutland. 

In 1854-55 a small monthly paper was issued in this town b}' De Witt 
Leonard ; it was called The Banner. In January, 1S61, one number onh' of a 
small sheet called the Golden S/ieaf was published. 

In September, 1863, the first number of an advertising sheet was published 
with the title of the Fairhaven Advertiser ; other occasional numbers succeeded 
until 1866 when the outfit was purchased by William Q. Brown, who began the 
publication as a regular monthly periodical, changing the name to The Rutland 
County Advertiser ; it continued until April, 1868. 

On the 5th of September, 1868, the first number of The People's Journal 
was published by Jones & Grose, with Rev. P. Franklin Jones as editor, This 
paper was continued until July, 1869, when it was purchased by De Witt Leon- 
ard and E. H. Phelps and the name changed to The Fairhaven Journal, with 
E. H. Phelps as editor. It was finally discontinued in 1877. 

On the 1st of January, 1879, the publication of The Vermont Era was com- 
menced by the Inman Brothers, who after three weeks' experience sold out to 
Joseph E. Colton, who changed the name of the paper to The Fairhaven Era 
and continued the publication until September 15, 1879. At this time the 
establishment was purchased by Frank W. Redfield, who still continues the pub- 
lication of a very able country paper. 

Poultney. — In November, 1822, Sanford Smith and John R. Shute began 
the publication of the Poultney Gazette. This journal was continued under 
that name until January, 1825, when it was changed to Tlie Northern Spectator, 
and published by " Dr. David Dewey and Amos Bliss, as agents for the pro- 
prietors," who continued to publish it several months, when it passed into the 
possession of E. G. Stone. It afterwards had other managers, among whom 
was Hon. Harvey D. Smith, afterwards of New York. Its publication was 
continued until June, 1830. The Spectator was a leading and influential paper. 
The character of its selections was of a somewhat higher tone than was the case 
of other papers of that period. Its leading editorials and communications were 
written by Hon. Rollin C. Mallary, Rev. Ethan Smith, Harvey D. Smith, and 
toward its close by Horace Greeley, then a j'oung man, and contributions from 
Jared Sparks, afterwards the distinguished historian, also then a young man 
tarr\-ing with an uncle in that vicinity. The first contributions ever made b\^ 



The Press of Rutland County. 229 

Horace Greeley or Jared Sparks to the public press appeared in the columns of 
the Spectator. The Spectator was a four page sheet, fifteen inches by twenty- 
one inches in size, and larger than the Rutland Herald at that time. The main 
character of the paper was religious and literary, rather than political, though 
when party spirit ran high it took a hand in by the way of contributions from 
the leaders of both parties. In the Poultney Gazette was a page devoted to 
missions and entitled the Missionary Herald, edited by Rev. Ethan Smith, and 
he was said to have afterward been one of the founders of the magazine pub- 
lished at the present time as the organ of the American t Board of Commis- 
sioners for Foreign Missions, called the Missionary Herald. The experience 
of the publishers was similar to that of many of the present day, as will be seen 
by the following extract from their valedictory, published December 28, 1825 : 

" It is now something more than three years since we first introduced our- 
selves to the public as the editor and publishers of a weekly journal. We com- 
menced with high hopes of success ; with prospects bright and flattering. These 
hopes have been partially realized ; they would have been fully realized had 
our subscribers, generally, been as willing to reward us for our toil, as we were 
anxious to render ourselves worthy of such reward." 

Sanford Smith was a son of Rev. Ethan Smith. He first learned the print- 
er's art ; he afterward studied theology, and entered the ministry, and was for 
many years a successful pastor in Massachusetts. John R. Shute went to Bos- 
ton, Mass., and died in that city. The Gazette was mainly under the editorial 
control of Ethan Smith, at that time pastor of the Congregational Church, and 
a theological writer of some eminence, who ardently entered into the religious 
discussions of that period. He was born at Belchertown, Mass., December 19, 
17G2 ; died August lo, 1849. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1790. 
He was a soldier at West Point at the time of Arnold's treason ; in his later 
years he was city missionary of Boston. He was the author of the celebrated 
work entitled Vietv of the Hehrezus, or the Tribes of Israel in America, published 
in 1825. 

The political and local policj' of the paper was shaped by Rollin C. Mal- 
lar)', then a Member of Congress, who was an almost constant contributor. 
He was born in Cheshire, Conn., Ma)^ 27, 1784, and died on his way home from 
Washington at Baltimore, Md., April 15, 1831. He graduated at Mid- 
dlebury College in 1803. He practiced law at Castleton from 1807 to 1818, 
and in Poultney from 181 8 to his death. A monument was erected at his 
grave by the members of the Rutland county bar. He was a Member of Con- 
gress from 1816 to 1831. He was an intimate friend and associate of Henry 
Clay and a zealous advocate of protection. He was chairman of the commit- 
tee on manufactures, and author of the celebrated tariff of 1828. Hon. Har- 
vey D. Smith, who was also associated with the Spectator, was a vigorous writer 
and a man of mark. He was born in Pawlet, November 9, 17S9. He re- 



230 History of Rutland County. 

moved in 182410 Gouverneur, St. Lawrence county, N. Y., wliere he died Sep- 
tember 28, 1864, aged 75 years. He was a member of the Assembly of New 
York, surrogate and county judge for many years. His mind was remarkable 
for quickness and clearness of perception. One able to judge of him has said, 
" that without being admitted to the bar he was the best lawyer of his day, and 
as a court administered law equal to judges of the highest reputation. " The 
Northern Spectator did not have a wide circulation or special prominence as a 
newspaper, j^et its name has attained a world-wide fame in connection with the 
fact that Horace Greeley learned the art of type-setting in its printing-office. 
It may be a matter of public and historical interest in this connection to give a 
sketch of Mr. Greeley as an apprentice, as some items of his early career have 
never attained great circulation. He was born at Amherst, New Hampshire, 
February 3, 181 1, and when about ten years old his father removed to West- 
haven, in this county. He became anxious to become a printer. In answer 
to an advertisement in the Northern Spectator for an apprentice, in the spring 
of 1826, he went on foot and alone to Poultney. The paper was then under 
the management of Amos Bliss. He found Mr. Bliss at work in his garden. 
Mr. Bliss used to report the interview as follows : — 

Horace said, " Are you the man that carries on the printing-office ?" 
Mr. Bliss said as he looked up at the boy he could hardly refrain from 
laughing at his appearance and replied, " Yes, I am the man. " 
" Don't \-ou want a boy to learn the trade ? " 
"Well," said Mr. Bliss, "we have been thinking of it." 
"I have had some notion of learning it," said Horace. 

Mr. Bliss entered into conversation with him and it required but little time 
to discover that he possessed a mind of no common order, and an acquired in- 
telligence beyond his years. There was a simple-mindedness, a truthfulness 
and common sense in what he said that commanded his regard. After con- 
sultation with his foreman, Mr. Bliss took him in and then and there Horace 
Greeley began his career, which culminated in his becoming one of the great 
editors of the age. The last issue of the Northern Spectator was gotten off at 
1 1 o'clock one June morning in 1830 ; and in the afternoon at i o'clock Horace 
Greeley, with a stick and a small bundle resting on his shoulder and an over- 
coat resting on his arm, started on foot for his father's, who then lived in 
Pennsylvania, five hundred miles away. 

Another item of interest may be added. Mr. Bliss was in New York in 
1853 and invited a friend to accompany him to the Tribune Building. They 
wended their way up to his sanctum. Mr. Bliss opened the door without rap- 
ping and there sat the editor busily engaged in writing. He did not notice 
their entrance. Mr. Bliss waited a moment ; but no recognition from Mr. 
Greeley. He soon spoke very deliberately " Horace. " The pen was instantly 
laid aside ; Mr. Greeley knew the voice ; he needed not to look in the face to 



The Press of Rutland County. 231 

know that an old friend was present. He arose from his chair and with out- 
stretched arms approached Mr. BHss and said in liis quiet way: "My dear 
friend! My benefactor ! how glad I am to see you." They narrated early 
reminiscences and discussed the battle of life. 

John Jones was a manufacturer of woolen cloth at Poultney, and during 
Mr. Greeley's apprenticeship had attracted Mr. Jones's attention. He gave 
Horace cloth for a suit of clothes, which, Mr. Greeley told the writer, was the 
best suit he ever had, and that Mrs. Harris Hosford, who died a few years ago 
at Center Rutland, made the suit for him. This kind act Mr. Greeley never 
forgot and made frequent visits to her when in this section. She had in her 
possession, a few years before her decease, bound volumes of the Northern 
Spectator, from 1826 to 1830. George Jones, the son of Mr. Greeley's bene- 
factor, established and is now the proprietor of the New York Daily Times. 

A paper called the Poultney Owl was published in Poultne}- for about six 
months, beginning in 1867, by James H. Lansley. 

On the 1 2th of March, 1868, the initial number of the Poultney Bulletin 
was issued in Poultney by J. A. Morris, with John Newton editor, and George 
C. Newman, assistant. In October, 1869, the Hon. Barnes Frisbie became 
editor, continuing until June, 1S70. In September of that year H. L. Stillson 
and William Haswell became the publishers, and in August, 1 87 I, Stillson sold 
his interest to his partner who continued the publication to November, 1873. 
In December following, R. J. Humphre}' purchased the Bulletin outfit and on 
the 8th of that month issued the first number of the Poultney Journal. This 
paper is continued at the present time ; it was continued four years by Mr. 
Humphrey, who was succeeded for two and a half years by Frisbie & Neagles, 
and then by Frisbie & Ross until about April i, 1881, when Mr. Charles W. 
Potter purchased Mr. Frisbie's-interest, and the firm continues Potter & Ross. 
The Journal is a representative county weekly, ably edited and well patronized. 

Three students' papers have been published in Poultney; the T. C. A. 
Casket at the Troy Conference Academy ; the Ripley Female College Quarterly, 
made up chiefly of contributions from the students of that institution ; and the 
Golden Sheaf, issued in 1876-77 by the students of the Troy Conference 
Academy. 

Castleton. — In 1824 the ]'ermont Statesman was commenced at Castleton 
by Rev. Ovid Miner. It was started in advocacy of the principles of the Whig 
party. After a few }-ears Mr. Miner left the paper and entered the ministry. 
The publication was continued by Messrs. Houghton for some time. The 
printing of the paper was suspended in 1845. It was in the office of the States- 
man that the well-known publisher, George A. Tuttle, began his apprenticeship. 
This paper in last years was the organ of the Democratic party. Ovid Miner, 
founder, was a native of Middletown, a graduate of Middlebury College. He 
afterward became a successful clergyman, and preached in this and several 



232 History of Rutland County. 

other States. Mr. Houghton removed to Michigan and was a successful editor 
for many years — at Marquette and at Houghton, which was named for him. 
He was for several years a consul to some foreign country. He died several 
years ago. Of the later publishers we have been unable to glean but few par- 
ticulars further than that the late Colonel Roby G. Stone, of Plattsburg, was at 
one time its publisher and editor. This journal was well sustained in the ear- 
lier years of its publication and was the rival of the Rutland Herald in the 
western part of the county. 

Brandon. — The Vermont Telegraph, a religious paper, in the interests of 
the Baptist denomination, was established at Brandon in 1828 by Ephraim 
Maxham and edited by Rev. John M. Allen. The paper was started by a com- 
pany, of which Mr. Maxham was manager. It was the first joint stock com- 
pany organized in Vermont for the publication of a newspaper. The first issue 
was dated September 30, 1828. This paper passed through the hands of vari- 
ous managers and editors until 1834, when it ceased to exist as a distinctive 
religious paper. Among its managers were John Conant, John A. Conant, 
James Long, Willard Kimball, and its editors Rev. Nathan Brown, Wareham 
Walker and Orson S. Murray. John Conant was a well-known business man 
of an early day. His son, the respected and venerable John A. Conant, still 
lives in a vigorous old age. He has been sheriff of the county, senator, presi- 
dent of the Brandon National Bank, and held many other positions of trust and 
responsibility. Ephraim Maxham is still living and is now connected with the 
Waterville, Maine, Mail. Rev. Nathan Brown went as a missionary to India 
and translated the new testament into several languages. He was also founder 
of the American Baptist. Orson S. Murray purchased the Telegraph in 1834 
and changed its tone from a religious to the advocacy of anti-slavery, and was 
the first journal in the State to make a distinctive political stand on that sub- 
ject. Another change was the advancement of infidel sentiments. Mr. Mur- 
ray was an eccentric man, but withal was a writer of great vigor and perspicu- 
ity. He was a vegetarian and wore his hair at full length, never allowing it to 
be cut, and was erratic in other particulars. He moved his paper to Ohio, 
where he assumed considerable prominence as an anti-slavery editor and lec- 
turer. He died a few years since at an advanced age. 

In 1832, in the height of the popular excitement in Vermont on the subject 
of Masonry, Hon. Zimri Howe established an anti- Masonic journal entitled 
The Green Mo2mtain Eagle. It terminated its existence in 1834, when the 
anti-Masonic excitement began to wane. Mr. Howe took an independent 
political stand against Masonry, although his father and family were members 
of the order. The paper was conducted with ability and had great influence in 
politics. Hon. Zimri Howe was born in PouItne\' in 1786, graduated at Mid- 
dlebury College in 1 810, and studied lav\' at Middlebury with Hon. Horatio 
Seymour, then United States Senator. He was admitted to the Rutland 



The Press of Rutland County. 233 



county bar in 1813, and settled in Castleton, where he practiced law until his 
death. He was father of John Howe, the recent State's Attorney. The tem- 
perance cause owned him as a pioneer and a persistent advocate at all times. 
He was one of the founders of the Rutland County Temperance Society, and 
was its president for a series of years. He was a member of the Governor's 
Council, State senator in 1836 and 1837, '^"'^ one of the assistant judges of the 
Rutland County Court from 1839 to 1844. He died at Castleton in 1862, 
aged seventy-seven years. 

In September, 1834, H. E. W. Drury, of Middlebury, established a Demo- 
cratic paper entitled The Vermont Argus, which was merged in a paper called 
The Free Press, at Middlebury, in September, 1836. 

In 1840 a political sheet called The Rutland and AddisoJi County Whig, 
was published by the Brandon Whig Association, of which Hon. De Witt C. 
Clarke was the editor. It was the most vigorous and spicy newspaper ever 
printed in Vermont. General Clarke was well adapted to his position ; a writer 
on all, especially political subjects, and a man of ready wit, full of anecdote and 
story, and well adapted to the writing of campaign songs — he gave its col- 
umns rare originality and spice. It was conducted after the manner of the 
Log Cabin, published during the same campaign by Horace Greeley, to which 
General Clarke was a frequent contributor. General Clarke afterward became 
the editor of the Burlington Free Press. He was the son of Asahel and Lydia 
(Finney) Clarke, and was born at Sandy Hill, N. Y. He graduated at Union 
College, studied law and settled at Brandon, where he practiced until he entered 
the editorial profession, for which he was so peculiarly adapted. He was sec- 
retary of the Vermont Senate for ten years, and was also clerk of several con- 
stitutional conventions. At the time of his death in 1S68 he was assistant sec- 
retary of the United States Senate. 

Jedediah Holcombe established a paper called the V^oice of Freedom at 
Montpelier, and after several years removed it to Brandon, where it was issued 
June 29, 1843, and ceased to exist June 15, 1847. It was devoted to the anti- 
slavery and liberty parties. 

The Vermont Union Whig — an organ of the Whig party — was established 
at Brandon by William C. Conant and Samuel M. Conant, and edited by the 
latter. It began in 1847 ^"cl was removed to Rutland in 1859, and soon after 
ceased to exist. Samuel Mills Conant was born in Brandon, read law and be- 
gan practice in his native town. He was assistant clerk of the House of Rep- 
resentatives in 1849 ; assistant secretary of the Senate in 1850, and afterwards 
secretary for several years. Samuel C. Conant is now editor of a monthly 
magazine in New York city. 

The Brandon Post, a Democratic sheet, was printed by Patrick Welch, from 
October 4, 1849 to 1850. 

The Vermont Tribune, a Whig paper, was established by William C. Rog- 



234 History of Rutland County. 

ers, January 4, 1 850, and published about a year, when it was discontinued and 
the office sold and taken out of the State. 

The Wester?! Vermont Transcript had a brief existence in this place of less 
than a year, in 1856. It was Republican in politics and was published by Julius 
H. Mott and Rev. A. C. Rose. 

The N. E. Christian Advocate, a Methodist journal, was published by Revs. 
A. C. Rose and William Ford, for one year, beginning at the close of 1857. 

The N. E. ]'isitor, of the same character as the last named paper was pub- 
lished by Rev. William Ford from January 6, 1859 to March 7, 1861. 

The Brandon Gazette was published one year, beginning May 30, 1861, by 
Hiram Truss ; it was a Republican sheet. 

The Brandon Monitor, published by D. L. Milliken, was first issued July 1 1, 
1862, and continued one year; Republican in politics. 

The I'ernwnt Record, Republican, also published by Mr. Milliken, was be- 
gun July 17, 1863, and in a short time was removed to Brattleboro. 

The Brandon Union was started on the 30th of November, 1872, as an in- 
dependent local journal, by Albion N. Merchant, with Hiram M. Mott as ed- 
itor. The establishment has since that date passed consecutively through the 
hands of Mott & Tobin, Hiram M. Mott, Mott Brothers, Norman A. Mott, 
Hiram M. Mott, Stillman B. Ryder, who is the present publisher. The paper 
is now prosperous and ably conducted. 

On the 20th of October, 1876, David C. Hackett, who had been engaged 
in the publication of the Black River Gazette at Ludlow, removed his estab- 
lishment to Brandon and issued the first number of the Otter Creek News, 
which he has successfully conducted to the present time. 

Danby. — The Otter Creek Valley News was first issued in Danby in Sep- 
tember, 1878, being printed at Bennington, and published by J. C. Williams; 
it was issued every Friday, independent in character. Its publication was dis- 
continued in 1880. 

Wallingford. — During a part of the time between the years 1855 and 1S60 
a small sheet was published at Wallingford by P. H. Emerson and Amasa 
Bishop, called the Local Spy. 

In 1877 the Wallingford Standard yN-a.s established by Addison G. Stone; 
it was continued to 1880, a part of the time under the control of S. Sabin. 
The printing was done at Bennington and Brandon. 



Medical Societies and the Profession. 235 

• CHAPTER XVI. 

MEDICAL SOCIETIES AND THE PROFESSION. 

The Castleton Medical College — Organization, Members of Corporation, Officers, etc. — First 
Medical Society — County Medical Societies— The Present Society and its Officers — Castleton Med- 
ical Society — Castleton Medical and Surgical Clinic — Society of Alumni of Castleton Medical College 
— The Rutland Dispensary — Biographic Memoranda in the Various Towns— Dr. James Porter— Dr. 
Lorenzo Sheldon— Dr. Ezekiel Porter — Dr. James B. Porter — Dr. Cyrus Porter — Dr. Hannibal 
Porter — Dr. James Ross — Deceased Physicians of the Various Towns outside of Rutland. 

THE medical institutions and members of the profession in this county have 
been and now are of such a character as to demand only the highest com- 
mendation. Even while the country was comparati\'cly new, ministers of the 
healing art settled among the inhabitants in the various towns, whose profes- 
sional attainments were most excellent for that period, and whose personal 
characters were beyond reproach. To a brief description of the institutions 
founded by them and biographic notes of the more prominent of those who 
have passed away, this chapter is devoted. 

Tlic Castleton Medical College. — This institution was chartered by the 
General Assembly on the 29th of October, 18 18. The names of Selah Grid- 
ley and Theodore Woodward appear in the act of incorporation. In accord- 
ance with the law the corporation met on the 7th of December, 18 18, in Cas- 
tleton, and Selah Gridley was made president ; Theodore Woodward, vice- 
president, and Thomas Matthews, secretary. 

The corporation provided for one course of medical lectures annually, of 
eight to twelve weeks, and three reading terms of twelve weeks each. Selah 
Gridley was assigned to the chair of theory and practice and materia medica ; 
Theodore Woodward to that of surgery and obstetrics ; and Thomas P. Mat- 
thews to that of anatomy, physiology and chemistry. 

In October, 18 19, an act was passed by the Assembly conferring on the in- 
stitution power to confer degrees ; and by another act of November 7, 1822, 
the name of the corporation was changed to the " Vermont Academy of 
Medicine." 

The first course of medical lectures was delivered during the winter of 
1818-19, and the last course in the spring of 1861. There were no lectures 
delivered in 1838 and 1839. Up to and including the year 1824 there was 
only one course of lectures annually ; in 1835-36-37 there were two courses 
each year; 1842 to 1859 inclusive, there were two annual courses, spring and 
fall ; in i860 and 1861 there was only one course delivered each year. 

The following were members of the corporation at different periods of its 
existence: Selah Gridley, original corporator, and resigned in 1825. Theo- 



236 History of Rutland County. 

dore Woodward, original incorporator, and continued to his death in 1840. T. 
P. Matthews, A. M., 1819 to 1820. Hon. C. Langdon, A. M., 1819 to 1830. 
Rev. Elihu Smith, 18 19 to 1831. Leonard E. Lathrop, ?^. B., 18 19 to 1829. 
John Meacham, iSigto 1839. John Goodwin, 181910 1825. James Adams, 
i8i9toi854. Hon. Zimri Howe, A. M., 18 19 to the close. T. P. Batchelder, 
A. M., M. D., 1819, resigned in 1822. Joseph A. Gallup, A. M., M. D., 1820 
till his resignation in 1824. Amos Eaton, A. M., 1820 to 1822. Jonathan A. 
Allen, M. D., 1822 until his removal in 1829. William Anderson, M. D., 
1823 to 1824. Rev. Ethan Smith, 1823 to 1827. Hon. C. K. Williams, A. 
M., 1823 to 1830. Henry Howe, A. M., 1825 to 1827. William Tully, A. 
M.. M. D., 1827 to 1839. Benjamin F. Langdon, A. M., 1828 to the close. 
Joseph Perkins, M. D., 1829 till his resignation in January, 1857. Selah H. 
Merrill, A. M., 1830 to his death in 1839. Samuel Moulton, esq., 1830 to 
1839. Orlando N. Dana, 1830 to his resignation in 1839. Jonathan Don 
Woodward, M. D., 1839 ^o the close. Chester Spencer, 1839 to the close. 
Aruna W. Hyde, 1838 to the close. M. G. Langdon, esq., 1838 to 1854. 
Ezekiel Buel, esq., 1830 to his resignation in 1838. Oliver R. Harris, 1838 to 
his death in i860. Timothy W. Rice, 1838 to his resignation in 1841. Israel 
Davey, 1838 to his resignation in 1846. Isaac T. Wright, 1839 to his resig- 
nation in 1857. Dr. Horace Green, 1839 to his resignation in 1841. James 
McClintock, 1 841 to December 30, 1843, when the corporation by vote de- 
clared his connection with the institution severed. E. S. Carr, 1842 to his res- 
ignation in 1853. Middleton Goldsmith, 1845 to his resignation in 1857. Dr. 
William Sweetzer, 1852 to his resignation in i860. C. L. Ford, 1852 to his 
resignation in February, 1862. Moses Jackman, 1850 to the close. A. G. W. 
Smith, 1852 to 1858. B. F. Adams, 1854 to the close. Dr. A. T. Wood- 
ward, 1854 to his resignation in September, 1S60. Ferrand Parker, 1857 to 
the close. Willard Childs, M. D., 1857 to his resignation in 1858. C. M. Wil- 
lard, 1858 to the close. Carlos S. Sherman, 1858 to the close. Charles Shel- 
don, i860 to the close. Dr. Charles L. Allen, i860 to the close. 

Presidents of the Corporation. — Selah^Gridley, December 7, 18 18, to De- 
cember 6, 1 8 19. J. P. Batchelder, December 6, 1819, to December 10, 1820. 
Joseph A. Gallup, December 10, 1820, to December 20, 1824. Chauncy 
Langdon, December 20, 1826, to December 20, 1827. William Tully, De- 
cember 18, 1827, to November 14, 1837. John Meacham, November 14, 
1837, to March 27, 1838. William Tully, March 27, 1838, to October 4, 
1839. Dr. Horace Green, October 4, 1839, to August 30, 1841. Dr. James 
McClintock, August 30, 1841, to his removal by the corporation, December 
30, 1843. Joseph Perkins, August 30, 1843, to February 25, 1857. Middle- 
ton Goldsmith, February 25, 1857, to November 14, 1857. Willard Childs, 
November 14, 1857, to May 28, 1858. Chester Spencer, May 28, 1858, to 
the close. 



Medical Societies and the Profession. 237 

Secretaries of the Corporation. — Thomas P. Matthews, December, 17, 
i8i8,to March 4, 18 19. Theodore Woodward, March 4, 18 19, to December 
18, 1821. Zimri Howe, December 18, 1821, to November 21, 1832. B. F. 
Langdon, November 21, 1832, to November 25, 1834. S. H. Merrill, No- 
vember 25, 1834, to November 14, 1837. O. N. Dana, November 14, 1837, 
to December 2, 1839. T. W. Rice, December 2, 1839, to October 5, 1841. 
I. Davey, October 5, 1841, to November 20, 1844. E. S. Carr, November 
20, 1844, to November 21, 1854. A. T. Woodward, November 21, 1854, to 
May 7, 1857. B. F. Adams, May 7, 1857, to the close. 

Medical Faculty. — Selah Gridley, professor of theory and practice of med- 
icine and materia medica, 1818 to 1820, and medical jurisprudence in 1820. 
Theodore Woodward, professor of surgery and obstetrics, and diseases of wo- 
men and children, 1818 to 1839. L. Leronte Cazier, A. M., professor of 
chemistry, anatomy and physiology, 18 18 to I 8 19. Thomas P. Matthews, A. 
M., professor of chemistry and anatomy, 18 19 to 1820. John P. Batchelder, 
M. D., professor of anatomy and physiology, 18 19 to 1S21. Amos Eaton, 
professor of botany, chemistry and natural philosophy, 1820 to 1825. Joseph 
A. Gallup, professor of theory and practice and materia medica, 1820 to 1823. 
William Anderson, professor of anatomy and physiology, 1822 to 1824. Jon- 
athan A. Allen, professor of materia medica and pharmacy, from 1822 to 
1829. William TuUy, M. D., professor of theory and practice of medicine, 
1824 to 1839. Alden March, professor of anatomy and physiology, 1825 to 
1834. Lewis C. Beck, professor of botany and chemistry, 1826 to 1832. 
Amos Eaton, professor of natural philosophy, 1826 to 1828. Solomon Foote, 
professor of natural philosoph)', 1828 to 1833. John D'Wolf, professor of 
chemistry and natural philosophy, 1833 to 1839. James H. Armsby, professor 
of anatomy and physiology, 1835 to 1839. Horace Green, professor of 
theory and practice of physics, 1839 to 1841. Joseph Perkins, professor of 
materia medica and obstetrics, 1839 to 1857. James Hadley, professor of 
anatomy and pharmacy, 1839 to 1841. Robert Nelson, professor of anatomy 
and physiology, 1839 to 1S40. James Bryan, professor of surgery and med- 
ical jurisprudence, 1839 to 1 84 1. James McClintock, professor of general, 
special and surgical anatomy, 1 841 to 1843. Frank H. Hamilton, professor 
of principles and practice of surgery, 1 84 1 to 1S42. C. L. Mitchell, professor 
of physiology, general pathology and operative obstetrics, 1841 to 1845. 
David M. Reese, professor of theory and practice of medicine, 1841 to 1843. 
William C. Wallace, professor of ophthalmic anatomy and surgery, 1841 
to 1842. William Mather, professor of chemistry and pharmacy, 1 841. Will- 
iam P. Russell, professor of medical jurisprudence, 1842. Alfred C. Post, 
professor of ophthalmic anatomy and surgery, 1842 to 1843. Ezra S. Carr, 
professor of chemistry, natural history and physiology, 1842 to 1853. Samuel 
Parkman, professor of descriptive and surgical anatomy, 1843 to 1845. Mid- 



238 History of Rutland County. 

dleton Goldsmith, professor of the principles and practice of surgery, 1845 
to 1857. Thomas M. Markoe, professor of descriptive and surgical anatomy. 
1846 to 1849. Solomon Foote, professor of medical jurisprudence, 1844 to 
1846. C. L. Ford, professor of anatomy and physiology, 1849 to i860. 
William C. Kittridge, professor of medical jurisprudence, 1846 to 1858. 
George Hadlej', professor of chemistry and natural history, 1853 to 1855. 
Adrian T. Woodward, professor of obstetrics and diseases of women and chil- 
dren, 1856 to i860. Albert Smith, professor of materia medica and thera- 
peutics, 1857. William P. Seymour, professor of materia medica, 1857 to the 
close. E. C. Sanborn, professor of surgery, 1857 to the close. P. Pineo, 
professor of medical jurisprudence, 1859 to the close. P. D. Bradford, profes- 
sor of phj'siology and pathology, 1859 to the close. Charles L. Allen, pro- 
fessor of chemistry and natural history, 185510 1S56. George Hadley, pro- 
fessor of chemistry and natural history, 1856 to the close. Charles L. Allen, 
professor of theory and practice of medicine, i860 to close. William Sweet- 
ser, professor of theory and practice of medicine, 1843 to i860. Ralf Gow- 
dry, professor of medical jurisprudence, 1839 to 1843. 

Presidents of the Faculty. — Selah Gridley, 18 18 to 1819. John P. Batch- 
elder, i8i9to 1820. Joseph A. Gallup, iS20to 1824. William Tully, 1824 
to 1839. Horace Green, 1840 to 1841. James McClintock, 1841 to 1843. 
Joseph Perkins, 1843 to 1857. C. L. Ford, 1857. William Sweetser, 1857 
to i860. Charles L. Allen, i860 to close. 

Registrars of the Faculty. — Thomas P. Matthews, i8i8 to 18 19. Theodore 
Woodward, 1819 to 1839. Joseph Perkins, 1840 to 1842. E. S. Carr, 1842 
1843. George Hadley, 1854. The dean of the faculty acted as registrar 
from 1854 to 1856. A. T. Woodward, 1S56 to i860. 

First Medical Society. — Tlie first medical society ever organized in the 
State held its first meeting at the house of Joseph Munn, innholder, at Rut- 
land, in August, 1795, at which Dr. Ezekiel Porter was made chairman; Dr. 
Benjamin Walker, clerk ; Drs. Samuel Shaw, Daniel Reed and Benjamin 
Walker, censors. Messrs. Enos Bell and Jonathan Shaw were examined by 
said censors and recommended. Dr. John Sargent, of Pawlet, was the first 
president of the society. 

County Medical Societies. — There was a County Medical Society organ- 
ized in this county during the first quarter of the century, and probably as 
early as 18 12; but the records are lost, or destroyed, and little is known of its 
career. It is believed to have been a prosperous organization for many years, 
particularly during the lifetime of the Drs. Porter, who took a deep interest in 
all matters pertaining to the profession. But in later years interest in the 
society seems to have decreased, and not long after i860 the organization was 
allowed to die out. For more than ten years the county was without a medi- 
cal society, until the organization of the second one in Februarx-, 1877. 



Medical Societies and the Profession. 239 

The Rutland Comity Medical and Surgical Society was organized in Feb- 
ruary, 1877, at Castleton. Dr. J. D. Hanrahan, of Rutland, was the first presi- 
dent ; Dr. A. T. Woodward, of Brandon, was elected president in July, 1877, 
and re-elected in 1878 ; Dr. H. R. Jones, of Benson, was elected president in 
Jul}', 1879; Dr. L. D. Ross, of Poultney, was elected president in July, 1880. 
Dr. John M. Currier, of Castleton, was elected secretary when th'e society was 
organized, and re-elected every year until 1880, when Dr. E. D. Ellis, of 
Poultney, was chosen to the office. The meetings of the society have been held 
every three months for the past three years on the shores of Lake Bombazine. 
Before that the meetings were held in Hydeville, with the exception of the 
meeting in 1S77, which took place in Rutland. The society has been con- 
stantly growing in members and usefulness since its organization. The annual 
meeting is usually held in July, and after the exercises of the day the mem- 
bers make excursions to Neshobe Island and to other resorts on the lake. 

Since the year 18S0 the successive presidents of the society have been as 
follows: 1 88 1, L. H. Cochran, West Rutland. 1882, James Sanford, Castle- 
ton. 1883, L. E. Wakefield, Fairhaven. 1884, E. A. Pond, Rutland. 1885, 
C. W. Peck, Brandon. 

The secretaries have been as follows: 1881, E. D. Ellis, Poultney. 1882- 
83, R. Lape, Fairhaven. 1884, J. H. King, Rutland. 1885, J. P. Newton, 
Benson. 

The censors at the time of its organization were J. D. Hanrahan, Rutland; 
J. Sanford, Castleton, and L. D. Ross, Poultney. The present officers, inclu- 
ding censors, are as follows: President, C. W. Peck, Brandon ; vice-president, 
E. D. Ellis, Poultney ; secretary, J. P. Newton, Benson ; treasurer, C. C. 
Nichols, Castleton ; censors, E. D. Ellis, Poultney ; D. I<~o&burgh, West Rut- 
land, and J. H. King, Rutland. 

Castleton Medical Society. — This society was organized December 21, 
1 8 19, by the students of Castleton Medical Academy. They met every even- 
ing during the session of medical lectures. One of the members was appointed 
to lecture at 6 o'clock in the evening. The professors of the academy were 
honorary members. January- 4, 1821, the\' passed a resolution to buy a cabi- 
net for the purpose of commencing a collection of specimens of natural history, 
and having a place to store them. It seems that this was the commencement 
of the large cabinet of Castleton Medical College. N. Fames was the first 
president and A. Kellogg the first secretary. It continued in active operation 
two years. The following note was appended to the records of the society: — 

"Thus died the Castleton Medical Society. — It has been of great benefit 
to its members and might have continued so coeval with the Medical Institu- 
tion, had not private jealousy preyed upon its members and expelled the spirit 
of constitution. Sic transit gloria mundi. J. Perkins." 

Castleton Medical and Surgical Clinic. — This organization was made by 



240 History of Rutland County. 

the physicians of Castleton and vicinity for the purpose of furnishing to poor 
people medical advice and surgical assistance free. Meetings were held on the 
first and third Mondays of each month at 2 o'clock p. m., at the offices of the 
different members. Special meetings were held at other times when occasion 
required it. 

This clinic was organized in August, 1879. Dr. J. N. Northrop has held 
the office of president, and Dr. John M. Currier the office of secretary since its 
organization. The discussion of medical subjects was a great advantage to the 
members of the organization, while it served to create more fraternal feeling 
among them. Such cases in surgery as are usually sent to the cities for treat- 
ment are enabled to receive assistance at home at a small outlay, without in- 
curring any risk in traveling. 

Tlic Society of Aliimui of Castleton Medical College. — This society was 
organized June 6, 1843. The annual meeting was held on the last day of the 
spring session ; the semi-annual meeting on the last day of the autumnal ses- 
sion. The first officers were Joseph Perkins, president, Josiah N. Northrop, 
secretary, Egbert Jamieson, treasurer. This society continued in active opera- 
tion until the school was discontinued in 1862. 

The Rutland Dispensary. — This institution was chartered b\' the Legisla- 
ture and consists of a building and lot in Rutland village, the building contain- 
ing six consulting rooms. The library contains about 2,500 volumes and is 
valuable, covering all departments of the science. The dispensary is equipped 
with every instrument needed for any surgical operation, with apparatus for 
the investigation and treatment of disease. This is a free gift to the dispensary, 
and cost about $10,000. There are to be the following departments: Out- 
door patients, Dr. Gilchrist ; diseases of women, to which Dr. Woodward is 
appointed; diseases of the skin, vacant; diseases of the eye and ear. Dr. Put- 
nam; diseases of children. Dr. Fox; diseases of the heart and arteries, Dr. 
Pond ; diseases of the chest and respiratory passages. Dr. Ellis ; diseases of the 
nervous system, vacant ; diseases of the joints and deformities, vacant; surgi- 
cal operations. Dr. Goldsmith. The plan of the dispensary is, first, to give to 
the poor gratuitously the advice of experts ; second, to raise up a corps of 
medical men who will become real experts. Medicines, as well as advice, are 
dispensed gratutitously to all comers. Dr. M. Goldsmith was chiefly instru- 
mental in establishing the institution. 

Rutland. — The medical profession has been so numerously represented in 
this town during past years, by men, too, who were in every way an honor to 
both their calling and the town, that we can only attempt to give brief sketches 
of the more prominent. 

The first physician in Rutland of whom there is an authentic record was Dr. 
Jacob Ruback, who was born in Prussia between 1740 and 1750. He was a sur- 
geon in the Prussian army and came to America previous to the Revolutionary 



Medical Societies and the Profession. 241 

War, landing in Quebec. After a short period in tlie British army as surgeon, he 
went to Connecticut, where he married and then removed to the New Hamp- 
shire Grants. He took part in the battle of Bennington, and in 1798 was ap- 
pointed surgeon to the Vermont troops. He was one, of the petitioners for the 
first State Medical Society. Soon after Burgoyne's defeat he came to Rutland 
and remained here until 1782 ; he lived on the road leading to the high bridge 
in Clarendon. In the records of the Council of Safety, October 10, 1777, is 
the following: "This may certify to whom it may concern that Dr. Jacob 
Ruback being a friend of his country has full power from this council, to take 
his estate, where it may be found, proving his property. " On March 20, 1778^ 
it was voted by the Council to provide a surgeon for Captains Allen and 
Clark's companies, and that Dr. Jacob Ruback be the surgeon for the jjurposes 
aforesaid. The captains referred to were Ethan Allen and Isaac Clark. Dr. 
Ruback died at Grand Isle in April, 1809. 

Dr. James Porter may be said to have been born to the profession, as his 
father and three uncles were physicians. He was left an orphan at four years 
of age and lived a part of the time until he was seventeen with his uncle 
Ezekiel, in Rutland. At that age he was permitted to go to sea as super-cargo. 
The vessel was captured by a French privateer and he suffered for a period, 
not only much hardship, but danger of confinement in a French prison. Being 
released, however, by a British vessel, he was sent to Norfolk and soon after- 
ward arrived in New York with but one penny as his possession. Returning 
to Rutland, he began the study of medicine with his uncle and continued until 
he was duly licensed to practice; for the first few years he practiced with his 
uncle, and when the epidemic of 1812-13 swept over the country. Dr. Porter 
was here alone to contend against its ravages. With such singular ability, 
fearlessness and endurance did he discharge his duties, that he gained the most 
unqualified esteem and friendship of the community. His skill increased with 
his practice and he became widely known for his success in surgery. Dr. Por- 
ter died in Rutland at the age of seventy-four years, after a long life of the 
greatest usefulness. 

Dr. Lorenzo Sheldon, son of Medad and Lucy (Bass) Sheldon, was born in 
Rutland, Vt, May 8, 1801. He was the eldest of a family of eleven children, 
consisting of five sons and six daughters. His father carried on a farm north 
of what is now known as West Rutland village. 

The subject of the sketch early manifested a desire for a broader culture 
than a constant devotion to the farm permitted ; and, having a taste for the 
study and practice of medicine, the way was opened for his entrance upon the 
necessary preparation for that profession. He entered the Academy of Medi- 
cine at Castleton, Vt., where he continued his studies until his graduation, Jan- 
uary 16, 1820, After completing his course at the medical college he returned 
to his native pla;e and commenced study and practice with Dr. Jonathan Shaw, 



242 History of Rutland County. 

with whom he formed a partnership. This connection, however, continued 
only about one year, when Dr. Shaw removed to Clarendon Springs, leaving 
young Dr. Sheldon to practice independently in his chosen field. 

He soon won a good practice, and commanded the confidence of the com- 
munity as a conscientious, attentive, intelligent and skillful physician. After 
a few years' practice, inducements were held out to secure his removal to Wad- 
dington, St. Lawrence county, N. Y., to which place he removed in the year 
1826. 

On his return, 1828, he entered, with all the ardor and energy of his nature 
into the practice of his profession, and won an honored position which he 
maintained till death, continuing to respond to the last to calls of friends who 
would not give him up, though he sought relief from the fatigues and cares of 
practice as the infirmities of age crept on. In the year 1829, February 6, Dr. 
Sheldon was married to Mahala Smith, of West Rutland. Of this marriage 
were born seven children — Sophronia M., Darwin Rush, Lucy Amorette, Charles 
S., Lucy L., Harley G. and Mary Kate, only two of whom, Lucy and Harley, 
survive him. In the year 1835 Dr. Sheldon entered into partnership with Mr. 
William F. Barnes, and commenced the marble business, then in its infancy. 
At one time this company owned the entire marble deposit extending from the 
present quarry of Sheldons & Slason, north. Dr. Sheldon, at a later date, be- 
came senior member of the firm of Sheldons & Slason, continuing his connec- 
tion with the firm till 1865, when he sold out, and ceased to have any connec- 
tion with the marble business. But he continued to have large interests in real 
estate, which absorbed a considerable portion of his time through the remainder 
of his life. While the responsibilities of his large marble interests were upon 
him, he sought some relief from his professional duties, and hence during those 
years his practice w'as somewhat restricted. 

He died Sunday morning, September 5, 1880, at the age of eighty years. 
He was a prominent member of the Congregational Church from 1826 and a 
deacon from 1865 to his death. He was also a member of the Masonic order, 
and conspicuous in all good works. It was written of him by his biographer 
that " his was a well-balanced, well-developed, rounded manhood, which, while 
presenting no very striking features, was strong at every point." 

Dr. Ezekiel Porter came to Rutland either before the beginning of the 
present century or very soon thereafter. He was uncle to James Porter and 
for some years contemporary >vith him in practice He lived in Rutland village 
on the southeast corner of Main and Green streets; was a prominent citizen 
and physician during his stay here, and finally removed to Floyd count)-, Ind. 
His wife was Eunice Pomeroy, of Coventry, Mass., and she died in Rutland in 
1814. He died in Indiana in 1823, leaving three sons there — Pomero_\-, James 
and Julius. 

James B. Porter was a son of Dr. James Porter, and was born September 



Medical Societies and the Profession. 243 

10, 1806, at Waterford, N. Y. He was fitted for college at Rutland and took 
a partial course in Middlebury College ; attended lectures at the Castleton 
Medical College and took his degree at the Woodstock Medical College in 
1832. He immediately began practice in Rutland and continued prominent 
in the profession for forty-seven years. He lived in the building now owned 
by the Rutland Missionary Association, on Main street, until i85i,whenlie 
built the house afterward occupied by him until his death, a little back from 
Main street. He was noted as a family physician of the old school, and as such 
was very popular and enjoyed a large practice. He died February 17, 1879. 
His wife was Harriet Griggs. 

Dr. Cyrus Porter, son of Dr. James Porter, was born June 25, 1808, and 
one of the four brothers, three of whom were physicians, as well as his father 
and grandfather. He received his early education in Rutland and attended 
later the then flourishing seminary at Castleton. His health was never rugged 
and fearing he would not be able to endure the hardships of active practice, 
he learned all there was to learn at that early date of the profession of den- 
tistry. This he practiced for some years here, and at Manchester and other 
towns. He then made an extended tour of the West and returning with im- 
proved health, he began studying medicine with his father. He attended lec- 
tures at the Albany Medical College and at Woodstock, and graduated from 
the Vermont Medical College June 11, 1839. He practiced here a few years 
and then removed to Peru, Clinton county, N. Y., but remained there but 
about two years. He was married in 1 84 1, returned to Rutland and joined in 
practice with his brother James B. He received the appointment of examin- 
ing surgeon early in the last war, and was afterward president of the board of 
examining surgeons, a position which he resigned in I 87 I. He died of paralysis, 
June 12, 1883, aged almost seventy-five years. As a physician and a man he 
was held in high esteem b}- all who enjoyed his acquaintance. 

Dr. Hannibal Porter, younger brother of Cyrus and James B. Porter, was 
born November 10, I 8 19. He was educated at Dartmouth College and grad- 
uated in 1 841. His medical studies were pursued with his father and at 
Woodstock, taking his degree from the latter institution. He also attended 
lectures in New York cit_\' and practiced there about tvvo j'cars before coming 
to Rutland. He was possessed of an unusually active and brilliant intellect, 
and his studies were pursued with energy and perseverance, until his education 
was exceptional. But his health, never very good, became still more impaired, 
and he died on the 27th of September, 1863, of paral)'sis caused b\' poison re- 
cei\-ed in a. post mortem examination. He was stricken down in the midst of 
his usefulness. 

Of Dr. Jonathan Shaw, who was in practice in Rutland before the present 
century, not much is known. He was born in 1771 and died in 1839. His 
first wife was Mary, daughter of Obadiah Bass. He was located in practice at 



244 History of Rutland County. 

West Rutland, and lived in the house now occupied by C. H. Sherman ; he 
became a prominent man in the community, both in and out of his profession. 
He subsequently came into possession of a grist-mill at Clarendon Springs and 
removed thither, where he died of a cancer. 

Dr. James Ross was born in Shrewsbury, May 8, 1809, and studied his 
profession and attended lectures at the old medical school at Woodstock. In 
1832 he married Almira Edson and began practice at Rochester, Vt., but re- 
moved to Rutland in the following year. The remainder of his life was spent 
here, excepting five years passed partly in Woodstock and partly in Le Roy, 
N. Y. For his second wife he married Rebecca Young in 1858. He was the 
father of seven children, one of whom is Charles E. Ross, one of the leading 
merchants of Rutland. He died on the 17th of May, 1880, aged seventy-one 
years. Dr. Ross was a man of exemplary character, upright and honorable in 
all his business with others. His tenderness of heart and warm sympathies 
made him deservedly successful and popular with his patients, while his thor- 
ough knowledge of his profession gave him a position in its front rank. 

Dr. Joel Green was born in Westminster, Mass., about the year 1781, and 
came to Clarendon when five years old. He soon afterward was taken to New 
Boston, town of Chittenden in this county. When he had reached a proper 
age he studied medicine with Dr. Jo.siah Hale, of Brandon, who married his 
sister. Dr. Green removed to Rutland in 1816 and practiced here until near 
his death, just previous to which e\'ent he went to Castleton and there died in 
the summer of 1849. 

Dr. Horace Green was a brother of Dr. Joel Green, and was born in Chit- 
tenden, this county, early in the century. He was probably educated at Cas- 
tleton Medical College, and was professor of the theory and practice of medi- 
cine in that institution from 1839 to 1841. He practiced several }'ears in Rut- 
land and subsequently removed to New York city, where he became very cel- 
brated for the treatment of throat affections. He was president of New York 
Medical College from 1849 to 1858. Some years later he removed to Sing 
Sing and died there in 1864. 

Dr. J. Dunham Green, son of Joel Green, studied his profession with Dr. 
Horace Green and graduated at Castleton in 1849, 'i"d in the New York Med- 
ical College in 1850. He practiced ten years in New York and about ten years 
in Rutland, entered the army and lost his health, forcing him to abandon his 
profession. 

Drs. David E. and Thomas Page practiced in Rutland many years ago and 
were a short time in partnership together. They were born in Bennington, 
Vt., and secured their medical education at Castleton. Thomas located at 
once ill Rutland anil David E. in ShorelKmi, Addison count}-, where he re- 
mained about fourteen \ears, anti came to Rutland about 1864. He died 
about a }-car later. Thomas is remembered as a thoroughly educated physi- 
cian, but became somewhat dissipated. They both died in Rutland. 



Medical Societies and the Profession. 245 

Benson. — Following are the names of the physicians who have practiced 
in this town as far as known, with the years of their stay: — Chauncey Smith, 
the first, came to Benson with his father, Asahel Smith, in 1785 and soon be- 
gan practice, continuing to 181 5. Ella Smith, brother of the above, from 
about 1786 to 1 80 1. Perez Chapin from 1797 to 1807. Cyrus Rumsey, from 
1808 to 1822. Rowland P. Cooley, born in 1784, came to Benson in 18 10 
and practiced very successfully for more than forty years. His native talent 
was of a high order and he was remarkably skillful in his profession. He was 
sent to the General Assembly in 1834-35, and was delegate to the State Con- 
stitutional Convention in 1836. Edmund Barnes, from 181 2 to 18 16; re- 
moved to Le Roy, N. Y. Seth Ransom, from 18 17 to 1854. Edward Lewis, 
1824-25; removed to Fair Haven and later to Jackson, Mich. Abijah H. 
Howard, 1827 to 1846; removed to Kalamazoo, Mich., where he died in 1859. 
Charles S. Perr\-, 1846 to 1849; removed to Poultney. Seneca E. Park, 
1848-50; removed to Franklin. Di.xon Alexander, 1849 to 1853; removed 
to Poultney and later to Iowa. Sheldon Ransom and Erasmus D. Ransom, 
sons of Dr. Seth Ransom, practiced a short time here, but removed, the former 
to Burlington, Iowa, in 1837, and the latter to the same place in 1846. Lu- 
cretius D. Ross, 1865 to 1869; was assistant surgeon Fourteenth Vermont 
Volunteers, during its service of nine months, and in 1869 removed to Poult- 
ney. (See town history for present physicians.) 

Brandon. — The records in existence of physicians who have practiced in 
the past in this town are very meagre, except as to those now in practice, which 
will be found in the history of the town. Dr. Nathaniel Sheldon was in the 
town before the Revolutionary War, but removed to the west soon after 1796. 
He speculated in land while here and probably did not practice much. 

Dr. Benjamin Powers was one of the original proprietors and one of the 
only two who came into the town to reside. He was from Greenwich, Mass., 
and is said to have been a good physician and a worthy man. He was the 
first practicing physician to settle in the town and died about the close of the 
Revolutionary War. 

Dr. Anderson Green Dana, born September 17, 1791, vvas one of the prom- 
inent early physicians of the town and a strong man in many ways. He began 
the study of medicine when eighteen and in 18 I 2 began attending lectures in 
Philadelphia Medical College. In the following February he studied surgery 
in the hospitals of Boston. He began practice in 18 1 3, and was one of the 
incorporators of the .Vermont Medical Society in that year. He was several 
times a delegate to the American Medical Association and repeatedly appointed 
councilor of Rutland county and delegate to the Castleton Medical College ; 
he was chosen the first president of the hospital department in that institution, 
and in 1830 received the degree of M.D. from Middlebury College, and the 
degree of LL.D. from the same institution in i860. He was a man of elevated 



246 History of Rutland County. 

character, brilliant intellect and a writer and speaker of exceptional ability. 
He was associated for some time before his death with Dr. Olin G. Dyer, now 
of Brandon. Dr. Dana died on the 20th of August, 1861. 

Dr. Myron F. Edson was born in Brandon July 18, 1846. He studied with 
Dr. E. A. Smith, of Brandon, one or two years, and spent about one year and 
a half in the University of Michigan, where he graduated in 1874. He then 
took a course in the Brooklyn Long Island Hospital, after which he returned 
to Brandon and passed a year with Dr. Smith. He then removed to Castleton 
and in 1875 married Belle D. Kellogg, of Ann Arbor, Mich. He died on Au- 
gust 9, 1879. He was a man of unusually brilliant natural gifts. 

Among the other early physicians of the town, of whom little can now be 
learned, were Dr. Joel Green, who lived on the site of the present Baptist 
church. He removed to Rutland before 1820, and is mentioned further on. 
Dr. J. W. Hale, who may be called the successor of Dr. Green, practiced here 
for some years. Dr. Isaac F. Merriam was contemporary with Dr. Green and 
remained some years after Dr. Green's departure. 

Castleton. — Dr. Samuel Shaw was the first physician in this town, and at- 
tained eminence, both in his profession and in politics. He was born in Mas- 
sachusetts in December, 1768, removed to Putney,' Vt., in 1778 and to Castle- 
ton in 1787, where he entered upon the practice of his profession at the age of 
nineteen ; he became especially prominent and successful as a surgeon. He 
entered ardently into politics and was one of the victims of the sedition law. 
He represented Castleton in the Assembly from 1800 to 1807, when he was 
elected councilor, serving one year. He was elected to Congress in 1808 and 
served to 1813. On his retirement from this office he was appointed surgeon 
in the United States army, which place he filled until 1816. He died at Clar- 
endon, Vt., October 22, 1827. 

Dr. Selah Gridley was one of the early physicians of the town, commencing 
practice in 1795. He was born in Farmington, Conn., in 1767. He had a 
large practice for about thirty years, and was one of the founders of the Castle- 
ton Medical College and president of that corporation from 181 1 to 18 19; he 
remained a member of the corporation until 1825. He died in Exeter, N. H., 
about the year 1826. 

Dr. Theodore Woodward began practice in 18 12, and became distinguished 
as a physician. He was also one of the original incorporators of the Castleton 
Medical College and a member of the faculty for more than twenty years. He 
died in 1840. 

Dr. Joseph Perkins, born April i, 1798, in Bridgewater, Vt., graduated at 
Castleton Medical College in 1820. He gained an enviable reputation as a 
physician and was largely instrumental in reviving the Castleton Medical Col- 
lege after its few years of suspension. He was its president from 1843 to 1857. 

Dr. George L. Bliss was born in Castleton December 23, 181 8, and began 



Medical Societies and the Profession. 247 

the study of medicine in 1 84 1 at Castleton Medical College. He graduated in 
November, 1S44, and practiced in Hydeville until January, 1S47, when he re- 
moved to Poultney. (See history of that town.) 

Other physicians who have practiced in Castleton and are deceased were, 
Dr. Jonathan Don Woodward, born April 28, 1799, at Hanover, N. H., grad- 
uated at Castleton Medical College, 1824 and practiced to 1869. He died 
June 20, of that year. Dr. Selah Gridley Perkins, born in Castleton Novem- 
ber 26, 1826 ; graduated at Union College and took his degree in the Castle- 
ton Medical College in 185 i ; was demonstrator of anatomy in the college after 
graduation ; practiced in Castleton and Waterford, N. Y. He was killed at 
Ashby's Gap, September 22, 1862. Dr. Henry F. Smith graduated at Albany 
in 1855 and practiced a short time here. He died in 1870. William Cullen 
Perkins, born in Castleton March 12, 1828; graduated at Castleton Medical 
College in 1853, and immediately began practice with his father. Removed to 
Lansing, Iowa, in 1856, and died in Castleton March 13, 1865. 

Investigations kindly made by Dr. John M. Currier, in the Castleton land 
records, show that Dr. Kellogg Berry purchased land in this town in 1787, on 
the north side of " Broad street." And a later transaction (1789) between other 
parties, alludes .to " the south side of Broad street opposite Kellogg Berry's 
store." Dr. Berry is also mentioned in several other places in the records. 
According to the same authority, Dr. William Wolcott bought and sold land 
in this town between 1787 and 1793. In 1793 Dr. Wolcott, Aaron Hastings 
and Elisha Baker were sued by a New York physician named Dr. Effingham 
Lawrence, and the records speak of the defendants as " physicians and drug- 
gists in company under the firm of Hastings, Baker & Wolcott." Probably 
nothing further can now be learned of these men. 

Clamtdou. — Dr. Silas Bowen was one of the early physicians in this town 
and born in Woodstock, Conn., in September, 1774. He studied his profession 
in New York State and in 1799 settled in Reading, Vt., and located in Clar- 
endon in 1822. He died in Nebraska City, whither he had gone on a visit to 
his son, on the 26th of September, 1857. He is said to have been a man of 
energy and perseverance, and kindly and lovable in his profession. 

Dr Silas Hodges came to Clarendon about 1783, and was about the first 
physician in the town. He had previously practiced in Woodstock, Conn., and 
in Dunbarton, N. H. He continued practice in Clarendon until his increasing 
infirmities compelled him to desist, and died in 1804. 

Dr. Socrates Smith, a native of Clarendon, and a graduate of Castleton 
Medical College, practiced a short time here and removed to Rush, N. Y., 
where he died in 1870. 

Dauby. — Dr. Adam Johnson came from Norton, Mass., to Danby about 
1799, and was the first physician who had much practice here. He is spoken 
of as a well-educated man for those days, very pleasant and mild in his man- 



248 History of Rutland County. 

ners and considered a true gentleman in all his relations with the people. He 
bought out Dr. Tolman, the latter being the first physician in the town. Dr. 
Johnson was a good physician, possessed of sound sense and great energy. 
He practiced here until his death in 1806. Dr. Tolman's name appears upon 
the records for 1778. He became a land speculator and quite prominent in 
public affairs, remaining here until about 1800, when he removed to some 
other locality. 

Dr. Abraham Locke, born at Cambridge, Mass., in 1777, studied his pro- 
fession with Dr. Campbell, of Rockingham, Vt., and settled in Dorset. Be- 
coming acquainted with Dr. Adam Johnson, the latter employed him when his 
own health began to fail. He continued a prominent physician in Danby for 
forty }-ears, and died of paralysis June 4, 1844. 

Dr. Galen J. Locke, son of the above, born October 2, 1806; graduated 
at Castleton Medical College in 1835. He gained a thorough knowledge of 
his profession, but devoted a part of his attention to mercantile pursuits in 
Danby, and held several prominent political stations. He died in 1866, after 
practicing thirty years. 

Dr. Harris Otis, born in Scituate, Mass., in 1775, came to Danby in 1793, 
the third ph\'sician to locate in the town. Although an educated physician, 
his natural tastes led him into agricultural pursuits, which he followed most of 
his life, and with eminent success. He was a leading Quaker and held several 
town offices. He died August 8, 1847. 

Fairliaven. — Dr. Simeon Smith was about the first physician in this town, 
coming from Sharon, Conn. He became an extensive landowner in what is 
now the Westhaven part of the town, and at his death bequeathed that town 
$1,000, the interest of which was to be devoted to educational purposes, 
through a grammar school. He was a very prominent man; selectman three 
years; in the General Assembly three years (1789, 1792, 1797); delegate to the 
State Convention at Bennington in 1791, and in 1789 elected one of the assist- 
ant judges of Rutland county. He died February 27, 1794. 

Dr. Stephen Hall came from Connecticut in March, 1788, and is the first 
physician mentioned as owning land in the town. He removed to New Leba- 
non, N. Y., in 1791. 

Dr. James Witherell came from Mansfield, Mass., and in 1791 purchased 
the place of Stephen Hall, above mentioned, and probably succeeded \o his 
practice. He was well known for many years as "Judge Witherell," and was 
a man of great prominence in the community for twenty years. He was sev- 
eral times sent to the General Assembl)', and was Member of Congress while 
residing in F"airhaven. He removed to Detroit, Mich., in 18 10, and became 
prominent in public life there. 

Dr. Israel Putnam, March 25, 1785, was in practice in this town as early as 
181 I ; he was from Corinth, Vt. He became interested in a mercantile busi- 



Medical Societies and the Profession. 249 

ness soon after the war of 1812, and died in Hartford, N. Y. (whither he re- 
moved in 1 81 7), December 10, 1835. 

Dr. William Bigelow, born in Middleto«n November 9, 1791, studied med- 
icine with Dr. Ezra Clark, of Middietovvn, and received an honorary degree 
from Castleton Medical College. He came to this town in 18 I 5, and practiced 
until 1828, when he removed to Bennington. In 1S58 he removed to Spring- 
field, Mass., and died there April 20, 1863. 

Dr. Charles Backus studied medicine with Dr. Theodore Woodward, and 
graduated in 1821 ; came to Fairhaven and opened a store about 1824; after- 
ward removed to West Troy, and from there to Rochester, N. Y.; thence to 
Granville, and in 1842 came back to this town. In 1846 he removed to Hyde- 
ville, and died at Castleton Corners in 1852. 

Dr. Edward Lewis began the practice of medicine in Benson and came to 
Fairhaven in 1829, In 1834 he removed to Jackson, Mich., where he died 
January i, 1867. 

Dr. Thomas E. Wakefield passed his youth in Granville, N. Y., studied 
medicine with Dr. Charles Backus, attending lectures at Pittsfield, Mass., and 
Castleton, and came to Fairhaven in October, 1842. 

Hnhbardtoii. — Dr. Theophilus Flagg was the first physician in this town 
and came in 1 79 1. He is said to have been a skillful practitioner, a gentle 
nurse and a very worthy man. It is not known in what year he died. 

Aliddlctozvn. — Ezra Clark was the first physician to settle in this town. 
He was a son of Theophilus Clark, and began practice here about 1788, con- 
tinuing until 1 8 19, when he removed to Ohio. He was a man of good char- 
acter and conspicuous ability. He died about the year 1828. 

William Frisbie, jr., was seventeen years old when his father settled in 
Middletown, before 1785. The father died in 1813, and the son studied medi- 
cine with Dr. Ezra Clark, with whom he subsequently practiced for a time un- 
til his removal to Pittsford ; in the latter place he practiced about twenty-five 
years, and removed to Phelps, N. Y., where he died about 1837. He had the 
reputation of being a good physician. 

Dr. Eliakim Paul, son of Stephen Paul, spent his younger life on his 
father's farm, but was made a cripple for life through an early misfortune. He 
consequently took up the study of medicine and received his diploma from 
the Castleton Medical College in 1822. He immediately bought out Dr. David 
G. McClure, then practicing in Middletown, and was thereafter for nearly fifty 
years the only physician in town. He was universally esteemed as a physi- 
cian and a man ; represented the town in the Assembly eight years; was town 
clerk eight years, and died at seventy-eight years of age. 

Dr. S. H. Haynes was born in Middletown in 18 tj, and received his med- 
ical education at Woodstock, where he graduated in 1 84 1. He immediately 
began practice in Middletown, and continued down to near the time of his 
death, which occurred in 1884. 



250 History of Rutland County. 

Dr. David .G. McClure was a son of James McClure, one of the early set- 
tlers of Middletown. He studied medicine and succeeded Dr. Ezra Clark, 
and practiced several years prior to 1822, when he removed to Ohio. He died 
in that State, leaving a family. 

Alva Paul, a cousin of Dr. Eliakim Paul, was in practice in this town for 
some years ; but we are without further data regarding him. 

Mount Holly. — The first physician who settled in this town was Dr. Oliver 
Guernsey. He was born in Windham county, and came to Mount Holly in 
1798. Entering at once upon his practice, and, being a man of good judg- 
ment and a thorough student for that period, he soon acquired an extensive busi- 
ness. He might have attained the front rank of the county's physicians, but 
in later hfe unfortunately became addicted to habits of intemperance, which 
greatly impaired his usefulness. He removed in 1833 to the home of his son 
in Shrewsbury and subsequently to Cattaraugus county, N. Y., where he died 
in 1838, aged about sixty-two years. 

Dr. Sylvester Grinnel settled in this town in 1816, and continued practice 
about twenty years ; he, however, divided his time between his profession and 
farming. He removed to Ohio in 1836, and later to Wisconsin, where he died 
in 1859. 

Dr. Alvin McAllister located at Mechanicsville in 1821. He was a brilliant 
scholar, well versed in the literature of his profession, but seemed to lack 
somewhat in its practical application. In 1824 he removed to Queensbury, 
N. Y., and thence in 1828 to Utica. It is not known where he went from 
there. 

Dr. Lowell W. Guernsey, son of Oliver, settled at Mechanicsville in 1825 
and remained a little over two years, having a fair practice. He removed to 
Shrewsbury in 1827 and became successful. He died there in June, 1861, aged 
sixty-one years. 

Dr. Nelson Coburn located at Mechanicsville in 1833, but remained only 
about two years ; he removed to Morlow, N. H., and ten }'ears later to Niagara 
county, N. Y. 

Dr. Merritt C. Edmunds settled at Mechanicsville in 1858 and remained 
nearly four years. He then removed to the neighboring town of Weston, 
where he gained a successful practice. 

Dr. John Crowley was born in Mount Holly May 27, 1805 ; was educated 
in the common schools and Chester Academy, and studied medicine with Dr. 
Alvin McAllister, at Queensbury, N. Y.; attended a course of lectures at the 
Vermont Academy of Medicine in Castleton in 1826, and in the following 
year was invited by the late Dr. Billa J. Clarke, of Moreau, Saratoga county, 
N. Y., to become his partner. Having completed his studies and received his 
diploma from the censors under the then existing laws of the State of New 
York, he entered into the proposed partnership. For mutually satisfactory rea- 



Medical Societies and the Profession. 251 

sons, this was dissolved at the end of one year, and in October, 1828, he re- 
turned to Mount Holly and there remained in active practice during almost 
the entire remainder of his life. With the exception of Drs. Nelson Coburn 
and M. C. Edmunds, before mentioned, Dr. Crowley has had the entire field to 
himself since 1836. He was elected a member of the State Medical Society in 
1842, and in 1865 was elected president of the Connecticut River Valley Medical 
Association. The confidence of his fellow-citizens has been shown towards 
him by his election to the Assembly from 1843 to 1845, in 1848, 1862 and 
1863, and to the Senate in 1849, 1850 and 1851; he was elected assistant 
county judge for this county in 1868-69, ^"d was justice of the peace over 
forty years. In 1879 he substantially retired from practice. He is still living. 

Dr. John A. Crowley, son of the above, was born in Mount Holly March 
7, 1854; was educated mainly at Black River Aeademy. Studied medicine 
with his father and graduated at Albany Medical College in 1877; was the 
valedictorian of his class. His health was now seriously impaired, but he be- 
gan practice with his father, which continued to April, 1879, when he com- 
pletely broke down physicall}-, and died August 28, 1879, aged twenty-five 
years. 

Pawlct. — Dr. Lemuel Chipman was the first physician to locate in the 
south part of the town. He came from Connecticut in I 780, and was one of 
the distinguished family of that name, other members of which lived in this 
county. He was the first president of the State Medical Society, organized in 
1796, and was in the Legislature eight years. He removed to Richmond, N. 
Y., in 1798, and became distinguished as a judge as well as a physician. He 
lived to an old age. 

Dr. Cyrus Chipman, brother of the above, also located here, but removed 
to Rochester, Mich., about 1820, and died in 1S40. 

In the north part of this town Dr. Eliel Todd settled as the first physician. 
He is spoken of as having been endowed with rare talents ; but he died in 
1793, from an accidental dose of poison. 

Dr. Jonathan Safford succeeded Dr. Todd and was a successful practitioner 
until his death in 1821. 

Dr. John Sargent came from Mansfield, Conn., in 1761, to Norwich with 
his father ; entered the Revolutionary Army at eighteen, was wounded and 
captured and taken to Quebec. Paroled in the next spring, he returned to 
Norwich and studied medicine under Dr. Lewis. In 1780 he removed to Dor- 
set and soon became distinguished for his success in both medicine and sur- 
gery. In 1798 he removed to Pawlet, as the successor of Dr. Lemuel Chip- 
man, and was the first president of the Rutland County Medical Society. He 
was in the Legislature in 1803 and died in 1843, aged eighty-two years. 

Dr. John Sargent, jr., son of the above, graduated at Middlebury in 1811 ; 
studied medicine and practiced in Pawlet and adjoining towns several 3-ears, 



252 History of Rutland County. 

when he removed to Fort Ann, N. Y. He subsequently went to Rochester, 
N. Y., and died there. 

Dr. Samuel Potter practiced medicine in this town and Wells several years 
and was remarkably successful. But little is known of his life. 

Dr. Oliver L. Harmon came from Suffield, Conn., and began practice in 
Pawlet in 1798, continuing until his death in 1852, at the age of eighty-two 
years. He was an e.xcellent man and a good physician. 

Ithamar Tilden, Warren A. Cowdry, John L. Chandler, James H. Willard, 
Alva Paul, Isaac Monroe, Aaron Goodspeed, John Cleveland, Charles Hough- 
ton, Phineas Strong, jr., and Rensselaer G. Monroe, all practiced in this town 
for longer or shorter periods ; but of many of them little is known and of oth- 
ers little need be said. Dr. James H. Willard practiced here a few )-ears and 
removed to Brownhelm, Ohio, in 1S30; he died there in 1858. Dr. Warren 
A. Cowdry practiced here in 181 5. He removed to Le Roy, N. Y., and with 
his wife embraced the doctrines of Mormonism. (See history of Middletown). 
Dr. Charles Houghton, from Marlboro, came here about 1835 and practiced 
until 1847, when he removed to Bennington and thence to Philadelphia. Dr. 
A. Sidney Houghton, from Ellisburg, N. Y., practiced here from 1844; was in 
the Legislature of 1861-62 and during the war was a member of the State Med- 
ical Board. 

Pittsford. — Abithar Millard was the first regularly educated physician in 
Pittsford, though Dr. Amos Fassett was here before him ; but he probably had 
little claim to the title of physician. Dr. Millard was born at Rehoboth, Mass., 
June 22, 1744. It is not known where he was educated, but he settled in this 
town in 1788, having previously married in Duchess county, N. Y. His sec- 
ond purchase of land was Lot No. 9, of the town plat, which he cleared and 
built what was probably the fourth dwelling on the site of the village. There 
his youngest child was born, February 17, 1789. Dr. Millard left this town 
about the year 1804. 

Dr. Alexander Ewings located here in 1792. He is spoken of as a skillful 
physician and an honorable and able man. In 1805 he sold out in Pittsford 
and removed to Canada. 

Dr. William Frisbie, from Middletown, located here in 1802, and had a 
large practice until his removal in 1821. (See preceding pages). 

Dr. Kenelm Winslow began practice in Pittsford in 18 10. He was born in 
Pomfret, Vt., October 10, 1784. His professional career in this town extended 
over nearh;- half a century, and he died January 4, 1861. 

Dr. Freeman H. Mott came from Brandon in 1819. He was a son of John 
Mott, a soldier in the French War, who settled in Brandon. Dr. Mott remained 
here onh' one or two years. 

Dr. Aaron Baker began practice here in 1822, but died within a few years. 

Dr. Pelee Barlow also came here in 1822 ; he was a son of William Barlow 



Medical Societies and the Profession. 253 

of this town. Dr. Barlow studied with Dr. Baker and graduated at the Castle- 
ton Medical College in 1S21. He remained here in successful practice until 
1838, when he removed to Illinois and there died. 

Dr. George B. Armington located in this town in 1828. He was a son of 
William Armington, of Chester, and born October 14, 1801. He studied medi- 
cine with Abraham Lowell, of his native town, and graduated at tlie Castleton 
Medical College. He began practice at Wilmington and came to Pittsford as 
stated. He continued in active practice until just before his death, which 
occurred on May 4, 1863. 

Dr. A. G. Dana began practice here about the same time with Dr. Arming- 
ton. He was born September 17, 1791, in Newton, Mass. ; at eighteen \-ears 
of age he began his studies with Dr. Winslow, and continued them for two 
years with Dr. Selah Gridley, of Castleton, finishing with Dr. Joel Green, of 
Brandon. He remained in Pittsford until 1843, when he removed to Brandon, 
where he died August 20, 1861. (See Brandon). 

Dr. James Ewings was a son of James, jr., and grandson of James, one of 
the early settlers of this town. He was born in 1812 and received most of his 
medical education in Canada (his native place), and graduated at the Castleton 
Medical College in 1835. He began practice in Bridport, Addison county, but 
soon afterward came to Pittsford and formed a partnership with his brother-in- 
law. Dr. P. C. Barlow, He remained here until 1847, when he removed to 
Wisconsin. 

Dr. Ebenezer H. Drury began practicing medicine in Pittsford in 1843. 
He was a son of Calvin Drury and born here August 7, 1813 ; studied medi- 
cine with Dr. A. G. Dana and graduated at Castleton in June, 1842. In that 
autumn he located at Bethel, Vt., and the following April came to Pittsford. 
He continued in his successful practice until about 1863, when he retired. 

Dr. Thomas J. Ketcham, of Sudbury, located here in 1856. Pie studied 
with Dr. Horton in his native town and afterward formed a partnership with 
liim. Soon after coming to Pittsford he gave up practicing and engaged in 
farming; but in 1867 he resumed practice. 

Other physicians who have practiced here are Drs. Leonard, Sheldon, Cran- 
dall, Willard, Child, Warren and Gibbs ; but of them little is known. 

Poultncy. — The first physician in Poultney was Dr. Jonas Saff"ord, who 
came at a very early day, and before 1 800, and for a number of years carried 
on his practice, gaining the good will and esteem of the entire community. 
He was associate judge of Rutland county from 1797 to 1 80 1 inclusive. He 
finall)- removed to Putnam, Ohio, where he died. 

Dr. Stephen Brownson was born in Connecticut in 1783 and came with his 
father to Castleton in 1785. In 1810 he removed to Poultne)-. He studied 
medicine and in 18 13 bought out the practice of Dr. Jonas Saftbrd, and con- 
tinued in practice until 1822, when he sold to Dr. David Palmer and removed 



254 History of Rutland County. 

back to Castleton. A few years later he went to Hampton, N. Y., and after 
three or four years there, returned to Poultney. He died at East Pouhney 
September i, 1849. Dr. Palmer practiced only a few years here and left the 
town in 1S22. He became a professor in the medical institution at Woodstock 
and later in a similar institution in Massachusetts, where he died. He occu- 
pied a high position in the profession. 

Dr. Ebenezer Porter was in practice in this town, but we are without data 
of his career. He succeeded Dr. Palmer above mentioned. 

David Dewey, son of Major Zebediah Dewey, one of the first settlers of 
this town, studied medicine and received his license to practice ; his studies were 
pursued with Dr. Selah Gridley, of Castleton. He never paid his whole atten- 
tion to his profession, having engaged in farming and later invented the first 
cloth-shearing machine in the country ; to the manufacture of this he gave up 
his time after about 181 1 ; he also manufactured cotton cloth and became in- 
terested in mercantile trade with William Wheeler. He also owned at one 
time an interest in the Nort/icni Spectator printing office. In 1837 he received 
a patent on a spring tooth horse-rake, which was a successful invention. He 
died October 2, I 84 1, after a very active life. 

Dr. Horace Hall removed from Pittsford to Poultnej- about the year 1841 
and practiced from that time until his death in April, 1874. 

Dr. Adin Kendrick was born in New Hampshire and educated at Hanover, 
in that State. He came to Poultney soon after 1800 and attained a large 
practice through his excellence as a physician. He represented Poultney in 
the Legislature in 1845-1846, and died March 29, 1853, aged sevent\--two 
years. 

Dr. Charles S. Perry, born in West Rutland December 22, 1818; gradu- 
ated at Castleton in 1845 ; practiced in Benson to 1849 and in Castleton to 
1852, when he came to Poultney. Here he continued in active practice until 
near his death several years ago. 

William L. Munroe, son of Nathan and Nancy Munroe, of Poultne\-, gradu- 
ated from the Burlington Medical School in June, i860. He was one of three 
brothers to enter the service of his countr)-. Leaving a successful practice, he 
enlisted in the Twelfth Regiment in December, 1861, and re-enlisted in the 
First Regiment, First Corps, in December, 1864. He died in hospital at Camp 
Stoneman, D. C, F"ebruary 12, 1865, aged twenty-seven years. 

Wallingford. — Dr. John Fo.x was the most prominent physician who has 
practiced in this town. He was born in Tinmouth in 1782, and was the son 
of William Fox, one of the leading men of the early times of the town. John 
Fox came with his parents to Wallingford while a child. He studied medicine 
so early in life that he was fitted to enter the profession in 1803 ; his studies 
being pursued with Dr. Hamilton, then of Wallingford, and Dr. Porter, of Rut- 
land. When the medical college of Castleton was established he received a 



The Courts and the Bench and Bar. 255 

degree from it, as supplementary to his diploma from the association of physi- 
cians granted before he began practice. After three years of practice at Tin- 
mouth he returned to Wallingford where he followed his profession during the 
remainder of his life. He early gained and always retained the full confidence 
of the coiimiunity ; was particularly skillful as a surgeon, and his practice was 
very extensive and reached often a distance of thirty miles from his home. 
He represented the town in the Legislature seven years and was State senator 
from 1846 to 1849 inclusive. He died in June, 1853. Dr. William C. Fox, 
born in Wallingford, was a son of John, and practiced in Wallingford ; and Dr. 
George H. Fox, now in successful practice in Rutland, is another son. 

Dr. Joseph Randall, jr., son of Deacon Joseph Randall, an early resident 
of Wallingford, was born in 1794. He studied medicine with Dr. John Fox 
and attended lectures at the medical college in New Haven, Conn. He began 
practice in 1816, and soon attained enviable success. He died in 1834. 

Other physicians who have practiced in this town are K. O. Eddy, E. O. 
Whipple, John E. Hitt, George M. Noble. Joel Grover, David H. Meacham, 
S. D. Hazens and W. S. Cheney. 

W'cl/s. — Dr. Socrates Hotchkiss was probably the first physician in prac- 
tice in this town. He came in 1795. But very little is known of his life. He 
married a daughter of Samuel Lathrop and second, Mary A. Doolittle. He 
died when but thirty-six years of age. 

Dr. James Mosher was an early physician, but died in the midst of his use- 
fulness in I 8 16. 

Dr. Samuel Potter first practiced in this town several years, and then re- 
moved to Pawlet, where he died in 1835. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE COURT.S AND THE BENCH AND BAR OF RUTLAND COUNTY. 

-Vbsence of Courts in Early Years. — The Old Superior Court — First Judges — The First Docket 
— The Old Court Records — Jurisdiction of the First Supreme Court — The First County Court — Its 
Jurisdiction — Subsequent Changes — Probate Courts — Justices of the Peace and their Powers — 
The Records — An Early Rule of the Court — Whipping Posts- An Incident — Early Public House 
Licenses — Old Warrants, Complaints, etc. — Description of a Court Scene in Rutland — The County 
Bar. 

TH\l inhabitants of the territoiy constituting the State of Vermont were, for 
a number of years after settlement began, without protection from what 
might be termed a court. There were committees and councils of safety in 
existence, but as to their nature, origin and the scope of their powers, little is 



256 History of Rutland County. 

definitely known, particularly as they may have exercised some of the func- 
tions of the later courts.' The truth is, there was no regular government in 
the State ; everything was unsettled ; no social compact existed, nor any bond 
of union save that which resulted from common wants and common dangers ; 
and everything that bore the semblance of organization was a premature off- 
spring of urgent necessity. 

Down to the year 1778 the territory of which this work treats thus con- 
tinued outside the pale of judicial authority ; but such a state of affairs could 
not long continue, and in the year named, in the month of October, the Supe- 
rior Court was established, its first sitting being held on the 26th day of May, 
1779. According to the law passed in February, 1779, from which we quote, 
" This court shall have cognizance of any action where the matter does not 
exceed twenty pounds, or the fine does not exceed twelve pounds, except by 
appeal ;" in short, within the above limitations, it had jurisdiction in all causes 
of action. It consisted of five judges, one of whom was termed the chief judge, 
and four termed side judges, any three of whom could hold a court. It was 
virtually a copy of the old English system. Two of the judges had power to 
adjourn the court, and the clerk was appointed and sworn in by all of the 
judges. The chief judge, or, in his absence, any three of the side judges, 
had power to call a special court. Terms of this were directed to be held as 
follows : Within and for the county of Bennington, at Bennington, on the sec- 
ond Thursday of December then next. "Within and for the county of Cum- 
berland (a county, by the way, which never had a legal existence) at West- 
minster on the second Thursday of March, then next. Within and for the 
county of Bennington, at Rutland on the second Thursday of June then next. 
Within and for the count}' of Cumberland, at Newbury on the second Thurs- 
day of September then next. 

The first judges of this court were Moses Robinson, chief judge ; John Shep- 
hardson, John Fassett, jr., Thomas Chandler and John Throop, side judges. The 
first docket contained forty-one cases, in sixteen of which judgments were ob- 
tained and executions issued. Noah Smith was the State's attorney. On the 
very first page of the court records (now preserved in the Rutland county clerk's 
office) and preceding the docket, we find the following: — 

" At an adjourned Superior court, holden at Westminster, in the county of 
Cumberland, — 

" Item, Stephen R. Bradley, esqr., was appointed Clerk of said court and 
sworn to a faithful discharge of liis office b}' His Honour, Thomas Chandler, 
esqr. 

"Item, Stephen R. Bradley, esqr., and Noah Smith, esqr., were appointed 
Attorneys at Law in said State and accordingly licensed to plead at the bar, 
being sworn thereto. 

I .Sl.\de's St,!t^ Papers. 



The Courts and the Bench and Bar. 257 

" Item, Chipman, esqr. [this was Nathaniel Chipman, the distin- 
guished jurist], was appointed attorney at Law in said State and accordin<jly 
Licensed to plead at the Bar, being sworn thereunto." 

The last sitting of this Superior Court was held in Rutland in the spring of 
1783, and probabl}- in the old State-House, whicli is still standing on West 
street and of which an illustration will be found in this work. The clerk at that 
time was Obadiah Noble and he had with him, of course, the previous court 
records. These were left naturally enough with the clerk of Rutland county 
after the last session of the court. Previous to that date the court had been 
held in Tinmouth, then the county seat. In this manner all the old records are 
in a state of fair preservation, not only covering the period since the formation 
of Rutland county, but previous to that time and from the ver\' beginning, and 
are now in the county clerk's office and jealously cared for by Clerk Henry H. 
Smith, who properly appreciates their great value. 

Between the spring term and that of the following June the Superior Court 
was supplanted by the Supreme Court, the first session of which was held in Rut- 
land on the second Tuesday of June, 1783. This court consisted, down to 
1786, of five justices, one of whom was the chief justice and four were assistant 
justices. From 178610 1825 it consisted of three justices ; in 1825, i826and 
1827, it consisted of four justices ; and from 1827 it consisted for a number of 
j'cars of five judges. Since that time two other assistant justices have been 
added, making seven at the present time. 

Briefly, this Supreme Court had cognizance of all pleas of the State, crim- 
inal actions and causes, and whatever related to the preservation of the peace 
and punishment of offenders ; also of civil actions between party and party, 
between the State and any of its subjects, whether the same were brought be- 
fore it by appeal, writ of error, or otherwise. It had exclusive jurisdiction of 
the crimes of adultery, polygamy and all capital felonies; of treason, misprison 
of treason, counterfeiting the currency of the State, forgery, perjury, incest, 
rape, defaming the civil authority of the State, and all other crimes and mis- 
demeanors where a fine or penalty went to the State treasury, or where the 
punishment extended to the loss of life, limb or banishment. The officers of 
this court and the others described in this chapter, are named in Chapter IX. 

Comity Court. — The first County Court held on the west side of the Green 
Mountains sat at Tinmouth for the county of Rutland (then recently organ- 
ized) on the 24th of April, 1781. Previous to this date the Superior Court, 
before described, was the only court of law and equity in the State, Jona- 
than Brace was made the clerk of this County Court, and Nathaniel Chipman 
still remained the State's attorney. 

The County Court continued to sit in Tinmouth until the fall of 1784, when, 
on the third Tuesday of November, it sat in the village of Rutland. Present, 
Hon. Increase Moseley, chief judge ; Benjamin Whipple, William Ward and 



258 History of Rutland County. 

Samuel Mattocks (it is spelled " Mattox " in the record), assistant judges. In 
Thompson's Civil History of F^rwow/" (1840), the jurisdiction of the County 
Courts is given as follows : " The County Courts have in their respective coun- 
ties, original and exclusive jurisdiction of all original civil actions, except such 
as are made cognizable by a justice, and of all such petitions as may by law- 
be brought before such court, and appellate jurisdiction of all causes, civil and 
criminal, appealable to such court, and may render judgment thereon accord- 
ing to law. They also have jurisdiction of all prosecutions for criminal offenses, 
except such as are by law made cognizable by a justice, and ma}' award such 
sentence as to law and justice appertains." 

This is substantially the jurisdiction given to this court from the first. 

There was no change in the County Court until 1824 (taking effect in 
1825), when the following provision of law was passed : " From and after the 
third Thursday of October, in each county within this State [this court] shall 
consist of one chief justice, who shall be one of the justices of the Supreme 
Court, to be designated by the justices of the Supreme Court annually, for each 
circuit, and two assistant justices, to be appointed as now by law required ; 
any two of whom shall be a quorum to transact business." 

The same act defines the jurisdiction of the court as follows : " Of all crim- 
inal matters of every name and nature, arising in such counties, e.xcept such as 
are made cognizable before justices of the peace, and award sentence on the 
same ; and in all civil actions whatever, except such as are by this act made 
cognizable by the Supreme Court and such as are cognizable before justices of 
the peace, and render judgment," etc. 

The counties of Bennington, Rutland and Addison formed the first circuit, 
and the sessions in Rutland were ordered held on the second Monda)'s of April 
and September. 

There have been no other changes in this court, except that in 1856 a cir- 
cuit judge was specially elected, under Legislative enactment, to preside over 
the County Courts in his circuit, instead of one of the Supreme Court judges, 
as theretofore provided. This method prevailed, however, only during the 
year 1857, when the former plan was adopted. 

The Court of Chancery was provided for, to be held in the several counties, 
at the several times and places designated for holding the Supreme Court. The 
judges of the latter court were constituted judges or chancellors of the Court 
of Chancery, with powers similar to those held by the chancellors of the En- 
glish courts. This court passed out of existence in 1839. 

The judges of the Supreme Court previous to the organization of Rutland 
county were, for 1778, Moses Robinson, chief judge; John Shephardson, John 
Fassett, jr., Thomas Chandler and John Throop, side judges. 1779, Moses 
Robinson, John Shephardson, John Fassett, jr., John Throop and Paul Spooner. 
1780, Moses Robinson, Paul Spooner, John Fassett, jr.. Increase Moseley and 
John Throop. (See Chapter X. for subsequent judges). 



The Courts and the Bench and Bar. 259 

The clerks previous to tlie formation of the county were Stephen H. Brad- 
ley, whose administration embraced at first all the State, and subsequently be- 
came diminished as the various counties were organizetl ; and Jonathan Brace, 
who held the office one year. 

Probate Courts. — These courts were established about simultaneously with 
the erection of the county, and have continued with little or no change until 
the present time. According to the statute it was provided that " this court 
shall be a court of record and shall have a seal." Its jurisdiction was made the 
probate of wills, settlement of testate and intestate estates, appointment of 
guardians, and over the powers, duties and rights of guardians and wards. It 
was provided that the probate judge should appoint a register, whom he might 
remove at his pleasure ; that he might issue warrants and processes to compel 
the attendance of witnesses, etc. This county was divided into two districts — 
the district of Rutland and the district of Fairhaven. The former embraces the 
towns of Rutland, Pittsford, Brandon, Chittenden, Pittsfield, Sherburne, Men- 
don. Clarendon, Shrewsbury, Mount Holly, Mount Tabor, Ira, Middletown, 
Tinmouth and Wallingford. The Fairhaven district includes the remaining 
towns of the county. 

Justices of t lie Peace. — These officials were until 1850 nominated and ap- 
pointed annually by the General Assembly. Originally they had power to try 
all actions of a criminal nature, where the fines came within the sum of forty 
shillings, and the corporal punishment did not exceed ten stripes. They could 
also try civil actions (other than actions of defamation, replevin, trespass upon 
the freehold, and where the title of land was concerned), where the debt and 
other matters in demand did not exceed the sum of four pounds; and also de- 
termine on all specialties, notes of hand, and settle accounts not exceeding the 
sum of eight pounds. They could also bind over to be tried, by the County 
or Supreme Court, all criminal offenders the enormity of whose ofienses sur- 
passed their power to try. 

The jurisdiction .of justices of the peace has been gradually extended, as 
experience has shown was desirable, and now embraces the hearing of all civil 
matters where not more than $200 is involved and criminal matters where the 
fine does not exceed twenty dollars. They may also cause persons charged 
with crimes exceeding their jurisdiction to be apprehended and committed to 
prison, or bound over with sufficient sureties, for trial by the County Court. 

The constitution of the State was so amended in 1850 that assistant judges 
of the County Court, sheriffs and high bailiffs and State's attorneys were there- 
after elected by the freemen of their respective counties, judges of probate by 
the freemen of their respective districts, and justices of the peace by the free- 
men of their respective towns. 

The Records. — In the records of the courts on file in the clerk's office of 
this county, extending as they do back even beyond the history of the county 



26o History of Rutland County. 

itself, are many things of surpassing interest which cannot for want of space 
be transcribed here ; but brief reference to some of them will not be out of 
place. 

We find entered as a rule of the court, in connection with the first docket 
of the County Court, before alluded to, the following, which will inform the 
present bar how their predecessors of that day were admitted to practice : 

" A rule made by the court for the admission of attorneys. — Application 
shall be made to the court, in a private manner, for the admission of every 
Gentleman to practice as an Attorney at the bar. And if the Court think 
proper, they will order a private examination of the candidate, or candidates, 
to be made by the gentlemen of the bar, and if they think proper, after the ex- 
amination, may then recommend the candidate or candidates to the court in 
public and will order him or them to be sworn." Thus Darius Chipman was 
admitted "to the attorney's oath." 

The whipping- post was an important adjunct of the early courts for the 
suppression of crime, and was found in many of the towns of the county. The 
one used in the town of Rutland stood not far from the site of the present foun- 
tain in the park on Main street; with it was connected, as customary, the pil- 
lory. Here many prisoners convicted of crime were stripped to the waist, tied 
up to the ring in the post and lashed with a cat-o'-nine-tails, the number of 
stripes being judged in the sentences. A criminal was thus punished in Rut- 
land as late as 1808. There was, as is well known, a great deal of counterfeit- 
ing of paper money in the early years of the county's existence, and the pun- 
ishment visited upon those engaged in the nefarious business was often very 
severe. In 1785 one Canfil Wood and another man named Carpenter were 
arrested and hurried through a trial in which their guilt was established. The 
sentence of the former was that he " receive fifteen stripes on the Naked Body, 
on the 15th day of instant [January]," in Rutland. Carpenter was sentenced 
to receive thirty-nine stripes. These sentences were executed, and the feeling 
of the community towards counterfeiters generally is indicated in a grim sort 
of way by the sheriff's return, on which was endorsed the fact of the execution 
of the sentence, followed by the expressive words, " Well laid on ! " There are 
persans living in Rutland to-da\' who well remember the whipping-post and 
its uses. 

Another instance, the details of which liave been searched by the kindness 
of Clerk Henry H. Smith, is similar in character to the one described, but 
shows more forcibly the expedition and certainty of execution observable in 
many of the old criminal cases. The crime in this instance was passing coun- 
terfeit money, and the time 1808. Royal Tyler was presiding judge and The- 
ophilus llcrrington and Jonas Galusha, assistant judges. The principal crimi- 
nal of those arrested was found guilt)- and sentenced to stand one hour in the 
pillory, be whipped thirt\--nine lashes at the public whipping-post, \\ith cat-o'- 



The Courts and the Bench and Bar. 



nine-tails, and pa\' a fine of $500 and costs of prosecution ($67.20), and be con- 
fined to hard labor in the State prison for seven years and stand committed 
until said sentence be complied with. The others received sentences more or 
less similar. The trial, sentence and its execurtion, as far as the transportation 
to the prison, all took place in one day. The venerable Amasa Pooler, still 
living in Rutland, witnessed the whipping in this case, and saw the sheriff 
wash the naked backs of the culprits with rum, which he poured from a large 
pitcher. Something near a hundred sleighs were drawn up around the park, 
although the day was bitterly cold and the snow deep, to witness the execu- 
tion of the sentence. 

In 1782 the records show that the following persons in the county were 
licensed to keep public houses and sell liquors under certain restrictions. In 
Rutland, William Barr and Captain John Smith, ist. Castleton, Reuben 
Moulton, Frederick Remington, Isaac Clark. Poultney, Silas How, Nathaniel 
Smith, Thomas Ashley. Pawlet, Jonathan Willard, Zadock Everist, Joseph 
Armstrong, Thomas Lothrop, E. Curtice, Elisha Clark. Clarendon, Increase 
Moseley, Elihu Smith, John Bowman, F. TuUar. Tinmouth, Solomon Bing- 
ham, Daniel Edgerton, Cephas Smith, Benjamin Haskins, Neri Crampton. 
Wallingford, Abraham Ives, Alvin Jackson. 

Among the old warrants are many strange and quaint pictures of criminal 
life. One man was arrested for assaulting his wife, " taking his sword and 
other weapons Dangerous, in a manner which put y'r Complainant in Fear of 
her Life and Safety." 

So, also, in the numerous complaints are to be found interesting documents. 
John Burnam, esq., who is hereafter alluded to as long a prominent lawyer in 
Middletown, complained that " Titus Simonds, of Hartford, in the count)' of 
Cumberland, is guilty of Eniniical Conduct against this and the United States 
of America, in that he, the said Titus Simonds, on the 4th of September, 
1777, did go over to the Enemy, and aid, and assist them against the said 
States and afterwards was found within the limits of the State, lurking in a 
secret manner," etc. 

Another complaint of May 26, 1779, alleges that Isaac Reed, Enos Lov- 
ell and Asher Evens, did "break the peace in a Riotous and Tumultuous 
manner, assembled with other persons, b\- threatening and Insulting Capt. 
Lemuel Sargents, of Rockingham in s'd county, when in the execution of a 
Lawful command, all of which wicked conduct is a flagrant violation of the 
laws," etc. 

Another of this class of documents alleges on the part of Elnathan Hub- 
bell, of Bennington (after reciting his good name, etc.), that Abner Mill slan- 
dered him so as to " deprive him of his good name and fame, credit, esteem 
and reputation aforesaid, and to bring him into scandalous reproach and dis- 
pleasure, in the following language; 'Bennington, Aug. 6, 1779. These lines 



262 History of Rutland County. 

from your friend, Elnathan Hubbell to Abner Mill, I desire you'ld come and 
pay me for that hive of Bease you have taken from my house in the Silent 
]Sfight, thinking you were secure, but there being two undiscovered to you 
have acquainted me which are your friends and mine and if you will come 
spedily and settle it with me, well I nor witnesses will not expose you, if not 
you may expect the sudden fate,' " etc. 

Imprisonment for debt was not abolished in this State until the year 1839, 
previous to which the courts were burdened with that sort of legal business. 
But we cannot extend these quotations further. They serve to show in un- 
mistakable terms, the condition and practices of the courts and officers of early 
times. 

In this connection the following quotation from an old volume entitled 
Travels ThrongJi the Nortliern Parts of the United States, in the Years 1 807 
and 1808, published in 1809 by Edward Augustus Kendall, describing a court 
scene in Rutland in early days, is pertinent and interesting : — 

" Rutland is the county town of the most populous county in Vermont ; 
and adjacent to the inn at which I put up, is the court-house. On my arrival, 
which was after sunset, I found the public curiosity engaged by a sitting in the 
court-house, on some persons apprehended on a charge of counterfeiting bank- 
bills. As this was an offense of which I had heard much in all parts of Ver- 
mont, I had my curiosity, too, and I repaired immediately^ to the tribunal. 

" At my entrance, I saw, through the dusk, about a hundred persons, shab- 
bily dressed, standing, sitting, and reclining on the benches and tables ; and 
from this apparent disorder, I came to an instant conclusion, that the court had 
adjourned ; but, after a few seconds, the words, this honourable court, which pro- 
ceeded from the speaker whose voice I had not at first distinguished, drew me 
over to a contrary opinion, and I believed that the honourable court was cer- 
tainly to be found in some portion of the presence in which I stood. Accord- 
ingly, I set myself, in all diligence, to look for it ; and, as the principal group 
was assembled on what I afterward found to be the right hand side of the 
bench, I first supposed it to be hidden there. Soon after, however, having 
succeeded in distinguising the person of the orator, and observing the direc- 
tion in which he addressed himself, I satisfied myself of my error. In short, 
I descried, upon the bench, four or five men, dressed like the rest, but differing 
in this, that they were bare-headed, while all the others wore hats. From this 
particular, I was henceforth constantly able to distinguish the court from the 
rest of the persons who filled, from time to time, the bench. 

" Having now made myself acquainted with the court, I looked next for 
the jury and the prisoners ; but, jury there was none ; and, as for the single 
prisoner that was present, he sat, undistinguished, among the lookers-on. By 
degrees, I discovered, that though there was a whole bench of judges, and six 
or eight lawyers at the bar, this honourable court, of wliich the name was a 



The Courts and the Bench and Bar. 263 

Court of Inquiry, was engaged merely in an affair of police, and was called 
upon only to discharge, or to commit for trial, two or three persons, appre- 
hended as above. The court consisted only in the person of one of the mag- 
istrates, his bare-headed companions being but assistants in courtesy. This 
use of the words court or Iwnourable court had often misled me, and I had now 
been as much misled as before. 

" Tiiere is, in Vermont, as in some of its fellow-republics, no attorney-gen- 
eral for the whole republic, but an attorney-general, or as it is called a State s 
Attorney, for each particular county. In the present instance, the attorney- 
general for the county of Rutland, aided by a second lawyer, appeared for the 
prosecution, and there were also two law>-ers who defended the prisoner. 
These gentlemen, with man_\- others, were seated at a table, covered with green 
cloth ; and, upon the table, sat two or three of the sovereign people, with 
their backs toward the honourable court. In front of the bench, and without 
the bar, upon a raised platform, was an iron stove, or poele ; and, upon the 
platform, stood half a dozen of the same poeple. The stove, though both the 
court and the bar frequently spoke of their sufferings from the cold, and occa- 
sionally discussed the propriety of adjourning, to warm themselves in the ad- 
joining public houses, contained neither fire nor fuel. 

" It was a counsel for one of the prisoners that I had found upon his legs ; 
and I presently perceived that the merits of the case were in discussion upon 
the broadest basis. Fundamental principles, as recommended in the instrument, 
called the Constitution of the Republic, were frequently recurred to. The whole 
theory of the rights of man, and the whole basis of the social compact, were 
agitated ; and a deplorable picture of the oppressions of the existing govern- 
ment were drawn. ' Why, men will say, ' exclaimed this counsel for the pris- 
oner, ' we are fallen in evil times, if the government can put mankind in gaol, 
when they please, when there's nothing agin 'em! ' Proceeding in this strain, 
and reiterating the words, government a.nd falle7t in evil times, the counsel made 
a most formidable speech, such as might have shocked many an honest soul, 
who, till he heard him, had dreamed of nothing but a paradise of civil liberty, 
upon the sides of the Green Mountains. " 

After further describing the arguments of the counsel in a similar vein, the 
writer conveys the information that the prisoner was held ; he concludes as 
follows : — 

" The court now adjourned till after .?«//>(•;- ,• that is, till about 8 o'clock. 
It was in no small degree satisfactory to observe, that amid the want of defer- 
ence for the magistrate, manifested in a number of instances, and amid some 
defects of education in some of the members of the bar, the sentence pro- 
nounced was heard in silence and submission. The counsel for the defense is 
also a very respectable man, ' in evil times though fallen,' With the sentence 
of the court, and with the conduct of the prosecution, I saw less occasion to be 
pleased. " 



264 History of Rutland County. 

The presiding judge on this occasion was Theophilus Harrington (or Her- 
rington, as he wrote his name), the. eccentric magistrate of that period, of whom 
the reader will find a sketch a little further on, and also some notes regarding 
him in the subsequent history of the town of Clarendon. To those of the pres- 
ent day who are familiar with the characteristics of that individual, it will not 
need to be said that he was the last person who would be apt to utter com- 
plaint at a want of respect towards himself in open court. 

The County Bar. — The history of the Bar in Rutland county is coeval 
with that of the State. It begins at a period when many changes had taken 
place in the early habits of society ; when the simplicity of the fathers had 
yielded in a measure to the refinements consequent upon the increase of wealth 
and population, and when the proceedings before the judicial tribunals had be- 
come more technical and complex than in the early history of New England. 
There were few if any lawyers who resided in this county previous to the Rev- 
olution ; but there were many individuals who attended the early courts, who 
were not educated in the profession. They were commonly of a class possess- 
ing, perhaps, some influence in their own neighborhoods, with more or less 
aptitude for the transaction of ordinary business. They were the forerunners 
at the local bar, and occupied the ground afterwards monopolized by better 
educated men; some of them had a large business of the more ordinary char- 
acter. We would not speak lightly of these men ; they are not esteemed by 
all so highly as they ought to be ; these lions had no painters ; they lived be- 
fore the reports, and that was living too early for their after fame ; tradition 
cannot do them justice. But from the history that has come down to us and 
from all that can be gathered in relation to them, an opinion favorable to their 
professional merit acquires new strength. These and other considerations tend 
to establish their right to consideration. Their libraries were scantily furnished ; 
and this very scantiness led them to study the more intently the books they 
had ; to be guided by what lights their own minds aftbrded ; and, in some in- 
stances, doubtless, to more than supplying the place of authorities ; it compelled 
them to form the habit of relying largely upon their own resources. 

Foremost in the bar of Rutland county stands the figure of Nathaniel 
Chipman. He was a descendant in the fourth generation from John Chipman, 
of Barnstable, Eng., who came to Massachusetts in 1630. Nathaniel's father 
was a blacksmith and brought up his sons to arduous labor. At the age of 
twent)' years Nathaniel's mind was stored with wholesome qualities inspired by 
the rigid Puritanical discipline of his home, and he entered upon a course of 
classical studies with the minister of his parish, to fit himself for Yale College, 
which he entered in 1773. He soon took a high position in his classes, but 
before his senior year ended he left the institution for the arm_\' of the Rc\'olu- 
tion. Enough is known of his military life to give assurance that he performed 
its duties and suffered its hardships with the patriotism that would be expected 



^:^ 



-^-N 




Barnes Frisbii 



The Courts and the Bench and Bar. 265 

from such a man. He was made a lieutenant in the service, and in October, 
1778, reluctantly tendered his resignation "on the sole ground that he could 
not longer remain in the service without either becoming a beggar, or a debtor 
to an amount that would embarrass and perhaps ruin him for life." The res- 
ignation was accepted. In March, 1779, less than five months from his resig- 
nation, he had finished his study for the bar, ha\-ing been granted his degree 
from Yale while in the army. He was admitted to the bar in Connecticut and 
then, in April, 1779, repaired to his father's house in Tinmouth. Here he en- 
tered upon his practice, and that was his home for the greater part of his life. 
His was the third admission to the bar of Vermont (June, 1779), and his pro- 
fessional circuit embraced what are now the counties of Bennington, Rutland, 
Windham and Windsor. From 1 78 1 to 1785 he w^as State's attorney. March 
6, 1784, he was with Micah Townscnd as a committee to revise the statutes of 
the State ; in October of that year Isaac Tichnor, Samuel Knight and Stephen 
R. Bradley were added to the committee. Their labors were admirably per- 
formed. From October, 1784, to October, 1786, he was a representative in 
the Legislature for Tinmouth. From December, 1786, to December , 1787, 
he served as judge of the Supreme Court — the only lawyer on the bench — 
and as chief justice from December, 1789, to December, 1791. He was, in 
1789, made one of the commissioners to settle the long controversy between 
Vermont and New York, and his influence and ability were largely instrumen- 
tal in closing the protracted controversy. In the appointment of Federal offi- 
cers for the State, President Washington selected Nathaniel Chipman as judge 
of the United States Court for the district of Vermont, — a life office, but re- 
signed by him in 1793. He resumed practice, accepting only very important 
cases, and continued until 1796, when he was again elected chief justice and 
was appointed on a committee to revise the statutes; this resulted in the code 
of 1797, which was almost entirely the work of Mr. Chipman. Before his term 
as chief justice expired he was elected United States senator, which office he 
held from March, 1798, to March, 1804. He exhibited his modest nature and 
love of his adopted town, when he represented Tinmouth in the Legislature in 
1805, and continued in the office until 181 1. In March, 1813, he was elected 
one of the council of censors. From December, 1S13, to December, 1815, he 
again served as chief justice, which official labor substantially closed his 
public life. In 1793 he published his Principles of Government (afterwards 
e.xtended and republished), and the first edition of Reports and Dissertations. 
Other pamphlets and publications were issued from his pen, all bearing evi- 
dence of his splendid intellectual endowments. In 18 16 he was appointed 
professor of law in Middlebury College, which position he held nominally until 
his death. It has been written of him that " he was great in almost all the 
best sorts of knowledge. Given a sound body and mind, a taste for reading 
and profound reflection, and a tenacious memory to make his own^forever all 



266 History of Rutland County. 

that his mind once grasped — all the rest was accomplished by persistent in- 
dustry and a S3'stematic course of study, labor and recreation." He continued 
through life to read the Old Testament in the Hebrew, the New Testament in 
the Greek, with Homer, Virgil and other poets in Latin, calculating to go 
through the course once in each year. This annual feat shows his great ca- 
pacit)' for study. His political life was of the purest and loftiest character, he 
being a Federalist of the school of Washington. He died in Tinmouth Febru- 
ary 15, 1843, ^'■"i ''■> October, 1873, a monument was dedicated to his memory, 
at which ceremony there was a large gathering of the bar and others to pay a 
tribute of respect to one of the most eminent men of Vermont. 

John A. Graham was the first practicing attorney in Vermont. He was 
born June 10, 1764, and in 1 78 1 entered the ofifice of Edward Hinman, in his 
native town of Southbury, Conn. In 1785 he was admitted to the bar and 
removed to Rutland. He says in his own language, in a book published by 
him in 1797, on the early history of Vermont: " I moved forward as well as I 
could desire, in the different courts of the court of common pleas, till the year 
1790, when I was called to the bar of the Supreme Court of the State. I prac- 
ticed in this Court until June, 1792, when at the Circuit court of the United 
States of America, for the district of Vermont, at Bennington, I was called to 
the Bar of that Court, and admitted and sworn as an attorney and counselor." 
In 1794 Mr. Graham was given an appointment on Governor Chittenden's 
staff with rank of lieutenant-colonel. In the same year he was sent to Europe 
by the Episcopal Church of Vermont in the interest of that church. He re- 
turned in the following year, but revisited England soon afterward, and while 
there was given the title of Doctor of Laws by the Royal College of Aberdeen, 
and there also he gave some of his leisure to the writing of his book on Ver- 
mont. In 1800 he returned first to Vermont for a year or tw'o and then to 
New York, resumed the practice of law and attained considerable success. He 
is credited with obtaining a decision which resulted in legislation securing to 
all persons charged with crime the right to interview with counsel, before be- 
ing examined in private by a magistrate, a practice then in vogue and often 
greatly abused. For his argument in that case he received the congratulations 
of man)' eminent men both in and out of the legal profession. He died on the 
8th of August, 1841. His first wife was the daughter of Dr. Hodges, of Clar- 
endon, and his second wife was Margaret Lorimer, daughter of James Lori- 
mer, of London. He had a son by each of his wives. 

, Thcophilus Herrington 1 was born in 1762, and became a resident of Clar- 
endon in early life. He never received a legal education, and though admitted 
to the bar, practiced law but little. He, however, attained a high reputation 
as a judge, and as representative of Clarendon in the Assembly. In October, 

1 He commonly wn te his name " Herrintoii," and was probably the best authority as to how it 
should be spelled, although it has generally been spelled with an " a." 



The Courts and the Bench and Bar. 267 

1800, he was made chief judge of the County Court of Rutland and twice re- 
elected. In October, 1803, he was chosen one of the judges of the Supreme 
Court, and in the following month was admitted to the bar. He remained on 
the bench until October, 18 13, and died in the succeeding month of that year. 
His name has become almost immortal, perhaps, from the language attributed 
to him in response to a master who had captured a slave in this State, and 
having produced good evidence of his ownership, asked Judge Herrington 
what further testimony he could demand ; the reply being : " A bill of sale 
from God Almighty, sir." Though rough and unpolished in his deportment, 
and without technical knowledge of the law, he yet brought to his aid in his 
judicial labors a mind so energetic and vigorous, a discrimination so acute, 
and such thorough investigation, that he seldom failed to properl}- apply the 
laws. 

Hon. Robert Pierpoint was one of the most eminent of the Rutland county 
bar. He was born at Litchfield, May 4, 1 79 1, and was one of the seven sons 
of David Pierpoint. At seven years of age he was placed with his uncle to 
live, at Manchester, Vt. His uncle kept a country inn and the lad, although 
in feeble health, aided about the place for nine years as far as he was able. At 
sixteen he entered the office of Richard Skinner and began the study of law ; 
there he remained until he reached his majority, pursuing his studies with the 
utmost enthusiasm. In June, 1812, he was admitted to the bar of Bennington 
county and in the same )'ear came to Rutland to live. Shortly afterward he 
was made deputy collector of the direct tax ; the office was one requiring tact, 
energy and ability, and he performed its duties most satisfactorily. He rep- 
resented Rutland in the Legislature in 1819, 1823, 1857; was a member of 
the Constitutional Convention in 1822 and 1828 ; member of the State Council 
from 1825 to 1830 inclusive, and State senator from 1836 to 1839 inclusive; 
county clerk from 1820 to 1839; judge of probate from 1831 to 1S32; clerk 
of the House of Representatives in 1832 and 1838; lieutenant-governor in 
1848 and 1849. The degree of M. A. was conferred on him by Middlebury 
College in 1826 and by the University of Vermont in 1838. He was a judge 
of the Circuit Court under the old system from 1 850 to 1856, and held other 
honorary positions. His character has been summed up in the words, " He 
was an able and good man." In his profession he ranked high and was a for- 
midable opponent. He died September 23, 1864, aged seventy-three years. 

Israel Smith passed a portion of his professional career in this county. He 
was born in Suffield, Conn., April 4, 1759, and graduated at Yale College in 
1 78 1. He began practice of law at Rupert, Bennington county, and was sent 
to the Legislature from that town four years. He was one of the commission 
to establish the boundaries of this State and decide matters connected with its 
admission to the L^nion. In 1791 he removed to Rutland and in the fall of 
the same year was elected to Congress from the district composed of towns 



268 History of Rutland County. 

west of the mountains, and re-elected in 1793 and 1795. In 1797 he was 
elected chief justice of the Supreme Court. In 1801 he was defeated as a can- 
didate of the Republicans for governor, but elected to Congress, and at the 
close of his term took his seat in the United States Senate, to which he was 
elected the previous October. In October, 1807. he was elected governor of 
the State. He died in Rutland December 2, 1810. 

Solomon Foot, one of Rutland's and Vermont's most distinguished citi- 
zens and statesmen, was born in Cornwall, Addison county, November 19, 
1802; graduated at Middlebury College in 1826. On leaving college he be- 
came principal of Castleton Seminary, and held the same position again in 
1828, having in 1827 been a tutor in the Universit}- of Vermont, at Burling- 
ton. He was professor in natural philosophy in the Vermont Academ)- of 
Medicine, at Castleton, from 1828 to 183 i. He read law with B. F. Langdon 
and Reuben R. Thrall, and was admitted to the Rutland county bar at the 
September term, 1 83 1, settled in Rutland and entered at once upon a success- 
ful practice, especially as a jury advocate ; he took great part in political affairs, 
being a favorite and popular platform orator. His first marked public appear- 
ance that gave him notoriety was as president of the monster Whig convention 
at Burlington in 1840, at which ten thousand people convened, and his first 
words uttered in his loud, melodious voice, have become memorable : " Men 
of Vermont, come to order," which is said to have thrilled and hushed the vast 
throng in a moment of time. He took a leading part in that campaign, and 
from that time entered upon a successful political career. He was a member 
of the Vermont Legislature in 1833, '35, 'ij, and '38, and was speaker of the 
House in 1837, '3^ and '47. In the State Constitutional Convention of 1836 
he was a prominent member ; St^.te's attorney from 1837 to 1842. He was 
elected to Congress in 1843 and served until 1847, and was elected United 
States Senator in 1850, and served until his death in 1866, making a continu- 
ous public service of twenty years. He was president of the Senate during a 
part of the Thirty-sixth and the whole of the Thirty- seventh Congress, and his 
nomination for the vice-presidency was quite prominently canvassed at 
Lincoln's first election. He made many elaborate speeches in the Senate, and 
was conspicuous in the great Lecompton debate of 1858. He stood among 
great war senators during the Rebellion, and was an associate and adviser of 
President Lincoln. In 1854-55 he was president of the Brunswick and Florida 
Railroad, and visited England, negotiated its bonds and purchased the iron for 
the road. He died at Washington after a brief illness, March 28, 1866. A 
memorial funeral service was held in the Senate Chamber, after which the re- 
mains were conveyed to Rutland, accompanied by a senatorial committee, and 
deposited in the United States Court-room, where an impressive scene occurred 
on the delivery of the remains to the people of Rutland, in feeling addresses by 
Hon. Luke P. Poland, his colleague in the Senate, and Senator James R. Doo- 



The Courts and the Bench and Bar. 269 

little, of Wisconsin, followed by an address of acceptance on the part of the 
people by Hon. William T. Nichols. On the day of the obsequies, citizens 
came from all parts of the State, making the occasion one of the most impress- 
ive ever witnessed in Rutland. Public services were held and a eulogy pro- 
nounced by Rev. Norman Seaver, D.D., and the burial was made at Evergreen 
Cemeter}', where a monument of granite has been erected, taken from the same 
quarry from which the granite of the Vermont State-House is built. He left 
his large library to the United States Court of Vermont. He was twice mar- 
ried but left no children. The annals of Vermont will hand down to coming 
generations the memory of few more useful and distinguished citizens in public 
and national life, and none who held his native State and the town of his resi- 
dence in higher regard and greater love. 

Charles Kilbourne Williams, LL. D., was born in Cambridge, Mass., January 
24, 1782. He was descended from a long line of distinguished ancestors, and a 
son of Rev. Samuel Williams, LL. D., an eminent clergyman, HoUis professor in 
Harvard College, the first historian .of Vermont and among the early Congrega- 
tional ministers of Rutland, and a grandson of the patriot minister. Rev. John 
Williams, of Deerfield, Mass., who was carried into captivity to Montreal, in Feb- 
ruar}', 1704. His wife was murdered on the way. The subject of this sketch grad- 
uated at Williams, studied law with Cephas Smith, jr., and was admitted to the 
bar at the March term of the Rutland County Court, in 1803, and at once became 
eminent in his profession. In 18 12 he served one campaign on the northern 
frontier, and was afterwards for many years major-general of the State mi- 
litia. He represented Rutland in the General Assembly in 1809-11, 1814- 
15, 1820-21, and again in 1849; State's attorney in 1814-15. He was col- 
lector of customs for the district of Vermont from 1S25 to 1829. He was 
president of the Council of Censors in 1848. His most distinguishing quality 
was as a jurist, and he was elected a judge of the Supreme Court in 1822, 
and served until 1824, when he was appointed collector and was re-elected 
again in 1829 to 1833, when he was elected chief justiee and held that position 
until his voluntary retirement from the bench in 1846. Judge Williams was a 
lawyer of deep research and popular manner, and a courteous and learned 
judge. The judicial opinions reported are of great value to the profession, and 
his judicial history is among the most eminent in the history of Vermont. He 
was governor in 1850 and '51, which was his last public office, and crowned a 
long and useful service to the State. He was a devout member of the Epis- 
copal Church and was frequently a member of the diocesan and general con- 
ventions of that denomination. He died suddenly at his home in Rutland, 
March 9, 1853. He mariied Lucy Jane, the daughter of Hon. Chauncey Lang- 
don, of Castleton. This family consisted of four daughters and three sons, 
Charles L., Chauncey K., and Samuel, all of whom became law}'ers, and a 
grandson, Charles K. Williams, is now a member of the Rutland county bar. 



270 History of Rutland County. 



Leonard Williams a brother of Charles K. Williams, was born in Bradford, 
Mass., in 1775. Studied law with Daniel Chipman and was admitted to the 
bar in in 1795, and after a practice of a few years at Brandon and Rutland, he 
was appointed a lieutcntant in the United States army in 1799, and died in the 
service in 18 12, at the age of thirty-seven years. 

Charles Langdon Williams was born in Rutland in 1821, graduated at Wil- 
liams College in 1839, studied law with his father, Charles K. Williams, and 
was admitted to the bar in April, 1842. He settled at Brandon in 1844, and 
remained there until 1848, and afterward resided in Rutland. He was a law- 
yer of eminent attainments and learning, but he was cut off in his useful career, 
by consumption and died March 10, 1861, aged forty years. A son, Charles 
K. Williams is the only member of this eminently legal family now in practice. 
Mr. Williams was the author of the Statistics of the Rutlatid County Bar, 1847, 
Revised Statutes of Vermont, 185 i, and Vermont Supreme Court Reports, vol- 
umes 27 to 29, of which he was reporter from 1855 to 1857. 

Chauncey Kilborn Williams, was born in Rutland in 1838. Graduated at 
Williams College, in 1859, studied law with his brother, Charles L. Williams, 
and admitted to the bar. After a practice of a few years he removed to Flint, 
Mich., where he was for several )'ears a successful lawyer and city judge. He 
returned to Rutland and was for a time editor of the Rutland Herald, also of 
the Rutland Globe. He was a man of varied culture and historical research, 
and a writer of great force and clearness. He was the author of the Lives of 
the Governors of Vermont, and Centennial History of Rutland, and was a fre- 
quent contributor of historical sketches to the press; was a corresponding or 
honorar)' member of most of the historical societies in this country and several 
in Europe. He died suddenly in Rutland. 

Samuel Williams was born in Rutland, graduated at Williams College and 
studied law with his brother, Charles L. Williams. Was admitted to the bar 
and practiced for a time in Rutland. He was secretary of civil and military 
affairs during the governorship of Frederick Holbrook in 1861-62, also Gov- 
ernor Smith in 1863-64, and proved a valuable war secretary. He was for a 
few years treasurer of the Central Vermont Railroad. He was State senator 
from Rutland county in 1874. He has retired from practice and now resides 
in Philadelphia. He recentl)- published a memoir of his father, Charles K. 
Williams. 

Edgar L. Ormsbee, for twenty }'ears or more a leading lawyer of Rutland, 
was born in Shoreham in 1805. In early youth he manifested much origin- 
ality and precocity of mind. He graduated from Middlebury College in 1823, 
in a class distinguished for its superior standing and scholarship, embracing 
such men as Joseph Battell, the eminent patron of Yale College; Julian G. 
liuel, a talented lawyer; Hon. John S. Chipman, Member of Congress; Rev. 
Thomas J. Conant, president of Madison University ; Rev. E. B. Smith, pres- 



The Courts and the Bench and Bar. 271 

ident of New Hampshire Theological Institution ; Francis Markoe, of the 
Diplomatic Bureau, at Washington ; Rev. L. L. Tilden, long a minister at 
West Rutland; Hon. Merritt Clark, of Poultney, and Judge Harvey Button, 
of Wallingford. Among these men Mr. Ormsbee was distinguished for gen- 
eral and classical scholarship and natural talent. He read law with Hon. 
Rodne)' C. Ro)'ce and graduated at the Litchfield (Conn.) Law School and 
was admitted to the bar in 1826. He quickly rose to a high position and 
retained it until his retirement from practice. The only public office he 
held was that of State's attorney, from 1845 to 1847. His manner was, un- 
happily, not such as to render him very successful at nisi prins ; his forte 
was before the Supreme Court. He was argumentative, fond of metaphysical 
distinctions ; his style clear, pointed and suggestive, and his phraseology in the 
expression of his ideas often showed the purest and most classical diction. In 
common cases his angularity and rigidity of manner often diverted from the 
force of his argument ; but when his cause was one of sufficient importance to 
call forth his best powers of mind, then would he arise in dignity and grace 
and pour forth his thoughts in chaste and manly diction, in unsurpassed elo- 
quence. His wit was keen, his humor unbounded, his repartee always ready, and 
his satire irresistible. Mr. Ormsbee's perceptions were far-reaching and some- 
times prophetic. He was one of the first to conceive the feasibility of inter- 
communication through Western Vermont with the Canadas and other local- 
ities, and entered with voice and pen into zealous advocacy of the project ; his 
efforts, against much opposition, did very much to assure the railway system 
in which Rutland countj' now shares. He died November 24, 1861, at the age 
of si.\ty-four years. His widow still lives at an advanced age. 

Moses Strong was one of the early leading members of the Rutland county 
bar. He was a son of John Strong, of Addison county, and born in Connec- 
ticut. He studied law and married a daughter of Daniel Smith, in Shoreham, 
as his first wife. He came to Rutland about 18 10. He was elected to the 
office of chief judge of the County Court and held other positions of honor and 
responsibilit)'. He died September 29, 1842. 

De Witt Clinton Clarke, son of Asahel Clarke, was born in Granville, N. Y., 
September 12, 1810. He entered the University of Vermont, but left it with- 
out finishing his course, and subsequently graduated at Union College (1831). 
He studied law with Hon. George R. Davis, of Troy, N. Y., and was admitted 
to the Rutland county bar at the April term of 1842. He practiced law in 
Brandon, where he was for a time in partnership with E. N. Briggs. He 
established the Free Press at Burlington in 1846. In 1853 the paper passed 
from his possession and he engaged with Governor Charles Paine in the con- 
struction of railroads in Texas. Later he established the Burlington Daily 
Times. General Clarke was a man of note ; he held many offices of impor- 
tance and responsibility. In 1840 he was quartermaster-general of the State ; 



272 History of Rutland County. 

secretary of the Vermont Senate from 1840 to 185 i ; executive clerk of the 
United States Senate from 1861 to 1869; member of the State Constitutional 
Convention in 1857 and 1870, and secretary; presidential elector in i860. 
He married Caroline T. Gardner, of Troy, N. Y., who died in 1866, without 
children. General Clarke died in September, 1870. He was a sparkling 
writer both in prose and verse, and an influential editor. In conversation 
entertaining ; in official duties, competent, courteous and attentive. Few men 
had a wider acquaintance, both with the men of his own State (for though not 
born in Vermont, he was of Vermont parentage and a Vermonter through and 
through) and among the public men of the country. 

Anson A. Nicholson was born in Middletown in 1819. He studied law 
with Judge Harvey Button, of Wallingford, and was admitted to the bar in 
1843. He practiced first in Chester, Vt., where he married, and two or three 
years later removed to Brandon, where he remained a number of years in the 
enjoyment of a large practice. About the year 1864 he came to Rutland and 
resided here the remainder of his life. His death occurred in 1877. Mr. Nich- 
olson was well educated in his profession, enjoyed the respect of his fellow prac- 
titioners, and was especially proficient as an office lawyer. The only public 
office he held was that of State's attorney (1857-58). He was a fluent and 
gifted writer, both in prose and verse, and earh^ in life learned the printer's 
trade and at one time edited the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Chief, when he was but 
twenty years of age. 

Although Frederic Williams Hopkins did not long engage in active prac- 
tice of his profession, still his eminent qualifications entitle him to some brief 
mention. He was born in Pittsford September 15, 1806, and died in Rutland 
January 21, 1874. He was a graduate of Middlebury College, class of 1828, 
and studied law with Hon. Ambrose L. Brown, who was his brother-in-law. 
In 183 1 he was admitted to the bar and practiced with considerable success 
until 1839, when he gave up the profession forever. From 1833 to 1836 he 
was register of probate for the Rutland district, and at the time he relinquished 
his practice was appointed clerk of the Supreme and County Courts for this 
county. This office he filled until 1868, with the greatest credit. He had a 
taste for military life and was made adjutant and inspector-general in 1838, 
holding the office until 1852. He was a fluent writer of both prose and verse 
and an eloquent speaker. His first wife was a daughter of Thomas Hooker, 
of Rutland, and his second a daughter of Zimri Lawrence, of Weybridge. 

William Douglas Smith was a son of Hon. Israel Smith ; a graduate of 
Middlebury College in 1804, and a member of the bar of the count\-. He was 
appointed clerk of the House of Representatives of Vermont in 1809, and con- 
tinued in the position until his early death in 1822. 

Colonel Jesse Gove, a son of Nathaniel Gove, was a prominent member of 
the bar in his day. He was born in Bennington, Februar)' 20, 1 783, and fitted 



The Courts and the Bench and Bar. 273 

with Samuel Watson, of Rutland. He read law with Cephas Smith, jr., of 
Rutland, and was admitted to the bar of the county at the March term of 1 8 1 8. 
In 1809 he was appointed clerk of the United States District and Circuit Courts 
for the district of Vermont and held the office till his death. He was ap- 
pointed postmaster of Rutland in 1841, and attained the rank of colonel in 
the militia. 

William Page was born at Charlestown, N. H., in 1779; graduated at Yale 
College in 1797, and studied law with Daniel Farrand and was admitted to the 
Chittenden county bar in 1806, and retired from practice in 1825. He became 
cashier of the Bank of Rutland, a position he occupied for nearly a quarter of 
a century. He was secretary of the governor and Council from 1803 to 1807, 
and register of probate from 1815 101825. He died in 1S50, aged seventy 
years. His son, the late John B. Page, was governor of the State. 

John L. Fuller, born in Massachusetts in 1798 ; studied law with Charles 
K. Williams, and admitted to the bar in 1822, and in 1824 removed to Penn- 
s}'lvania, where he died in 1836 aged thirty-eight. 

Darius Chipman, born in Salisbury, Conn., in 1758 ; studied law with Na- 
thaniel Chipman ; admitted to the bar in 1781 ; represented Rutland in iSoi ; 
State's attorney in 1785 ; removed to New York city in 18 16, where he died, 
aged sixty-two years. 

Ambrose Lincoln Brown was born in Cheshire, Mass., October 25, 1795, 
and fitted at Castleton Academy. He graduated from Middlebury College in 
1816, and studied law with Hon. Charles K.Williams, LL. D., of Rutland, 
practicing here from 1819 to 1837; from 1837 to 184' engaged in paper- 
making and book-selling, and a part of that time as editor of the Herald; after 
1 844 he followed civil engineering. He was judge of probate for the Rutland 
district from 1832 to 1835 and in 1838-39; represented the town in the Leg- 
islature in 1834-35 > was assistant clerk of the House of Representatives 1841, 
and judge of Rutland County Court, 1844 to 1847. 

James Tilson Nichols, born in 1803 and died in Sudbury, 1868; studied 
with Hon. Solomon Foot and Silas H. Hodges, of Rutland, and was admitted 
in 185 I ; was assistant clerk of the House of Representatives in 1852; State's 
attorney for Rutland county 1859-60; member of the Legislature 1861-63; 
senator from Rutland county 1863-64; was a partner of Hon. Robert Pier- 
point from 1857 to the death of the latter; went out as a private in the First 
Vermont Regiment and was commissioned colonel of the Fourteenth Regiment, 
in which capacity he served with honor. 

Rodney C. Royce was born in Berkshire in 1800; studied law with Chief 
Justice Stephen Royce, and admitted to the Franklin county bar in 1822 ; set- 
tled in practice at Rutland, and proved one of the most eminent and brilliant 
members of the bar. He represented Rutland in the Legislature in 1830-31 
and '32, and was register of probate from 1825 to 1832. He died in 1836, 



274 History of Rutland County. 

aged thirty-six years. His only living descendant, Edmund R. Morse, is now 
a member of the bar. 

Nathan B. Graham was born in Southbury, Conn., in 1768; studied law 
with his brother, John A. Graham, and was admitted to the bar in 1792. He 
was a judge of the Rutland County Court in 1804, 1805 and 1806, and State's 
attorney from 1807 to 18 10, when he removed to New York and became an 
eminent criminal lawyer. He died in 1830, aged sixty-two years. 

Samuel Walker, born in Massachusetts ; graduated at Harvard College 
1790 ; studied law with Nathaniel Chipman ; admitted to the bar in 1792, and 
removed to Massachusetts in 1820. 

Samuel Prentiss, born about 1770; studied law with Nathaniel Chipman; 
admitted to the bar in 1792, and died in 182S, aged fifty-eight. 

Phineas Smith was born at Roxbury, Conn., in 1793; graduated at Yale 
College in 1816; was educated at the Litchfield Law School in Connecticut, 
and admitted to practice in Bennington county in 18 19. He practiced law 
successfully, and was a noted instructor, and the late Judge Loyal C. Kellogg 
was one of the most eminent of his pupils. At one time having a large num- 
ber of young men reading with him, he made efforts to form a law-school in 
Rutland. He died in 1836, aged forty-six years. 

Horace Powers was born in Pittsford in 1805 ; studied law with A. L. 
Brown ; admitted to practice in 1843 ; retired from the profession after a few 
years. 

Calvin Barnes was born at Lanesboro, Mass., in 1794; studied law with 
Moses Strong and Rodney C. Royce, and was admitted to the bar in June, 
1825, and removed to New York, where he died many years ago. 

Edson Allen was born at Guilford in 1804; studied law with Judge Daniel 
Kellogg; admitted in Windham county in 1835, and after a practice of two 
years in Rutland removed to Ohio, and died a few years since. 

George L. Gale, born at Lenox, Mass., in 1807 ; read law with Reuben R. 
Thrall; admitted to the bar in September, 1S31 ; removed to Michigan in 
1832, where he died many years ago. 

Simeon Wright was born about 1796; graduated at Brown University in 

1818 ; studied law with William Douglass Smith ; admitted to the bar in June, 

1819 ; practiced law a few years in Rutland and Pittsford and then removed to 
Michigan in 1823, where he died in 1833, aged thirty-seven years. 

Sumner A. Webber was born in Rutland in 1795 ; studied law with Charles 
K. Williams, and was admitted to the bar in June, 1825. He removed to 
Windsor county in 1826, where he died a few years since. 

Henry B. Towslee was born in Pawlet in 1810; studied law with Reuben 
R. Thrall, and was admitted to the bar April, 1832. Removed to Wisconsin 
in 1839. 

Cephas Smith was born in Suffield, Conn., in 1761 ; graduated at Dart- 



The Courts and the Bench and Bar. 275 

mouth College in 1788 ; studied law with Israel Smith, and was admitted to 
the bar in March, 1791. Died in 181 5, aged fift3'-four. 

Leonard E. Lathrop, a native of Hebron, Conn., born in 1772 ; graduated 
at Yale College, read law in Connecticut, and was admitted to the Rutland 
county bar in November, 1806; removed to New York in 1834, where he 
died in 1840, aged sixty-eight years. 

Lewis Royce was born in Northfield in 1805; studied law with William 
Upham at Montpelier, and was admitted to the Washington county bar in 
1830; removed to New York in 1838. 

Chauncey Abbott, a native of Cornwall in 1816, graduated at Middlebury 
College in 1836; studied law with E. F. Hodges, and admitted to the bar in 
April, 1841 ; after practice of a few years removed to Wisconsin, and has been 
a judge of the Supreme Court of that State. 

Royal H. Waller was born in Middlebury in 1804 ; studied law with Rod- 
ney C. Royce, and was admitted to the bar in April, 1827. He removed to 
New York in 1836, where he died many years since. 

Nathan Osgood was a native of Sterling, Mass., in 1759 ; read law without 
a tutor, and was admitted to the bar in May, 1803, and retired from practice 
in 1820. He represented Rutland in 1796 ; county clerk from 1789 to 1805 ; 
register of probate from 1803 to 18 10. He died in 1841 at the age of eighty- 
two. 

Nathaniel Hamlin was born in Sharon, Connecticut, in 1777; studied law 
with Cephas Smith, and admitted to the bar at the March term, 1800. He 
removed to Ohio in 1S16. 

Elias Buel, born at Coventry, Conn., in 1770 ; admitted to the bar in 1793, 
removed to Burlington in 1796, where he died in 1832, aged sixty-two years. 

Solomon Bingham, son of Caleb Bingham, a noted teacher and book-seller, 
afterward of Boston; born at Salisbury, Conn., in 1770; graduated at Dart- 
mouth College in 1791 ; studied law with Darius Chipman, and admitted to 
the Rutland county bar, it is supposed, in 1793. He removed to Franklin 
county, Vt., in 1796, where he was chief justice of the Franklin County Court 
in 1813. He died in 1840, aged seventy years. 

John Kellogg, the oldest son of John and Roxana (Matoon) Kellogg, of Am- 
herst, Mass., was a descendant in the fifth generation, from Joseph Kellogg, 
one of the first settlers of the town of Hadley, of which the town of Amherst 
originally formed a part. He was born at Amherst, May 31, 1786. In 1805 
he came to Vermont, and on the suggestion of Captain Silas Wright, of Wey- 
bridge (the father of the eminent senator and governor of New York, who 
had been an old neighbor of his father at Amherst), he determined to study 
law. He pursued his studies in the offices of Loyal Case Kellogg and Hon. 
Horatio Seymour, at Middlebury, and was admitted to the Addison county 
bar in 1810. During his entire course of professional studies he supported him- 



276 History of Rutland County. 

self by his own exertions. He began the practice of his profession at Benson 
May 24, 1 8 10, which he pursued for thirty years with dihgence and success 
and had a large and valuable professional business, from which he retired in 
1840, and spent the rest of his life in agricultural pursuits. He died Decem- 
ber 22, 1852, aged sixty-six years. He was postmaster, 1813 to 1822; town 
clerk, 1822 to 1828; member of the State Constitutional Convention in 1822, 
and representative in the Legislature in 1S22, '24, '25, '27, '28, '29, '30 and 
'31, and in 1830 was speaker pro tempore of the House. From 1S25 to 1831, 
brigadier-general of the State militia ; in 1838 the Democratic candidate for 
United States senator and delegate-at-large to the Democratic National Con- 
ventions in 1840 and 1844. He was a man of great industry, methodical 
habits of business and clear and sound judgment, and brought to the discharge 
of public and private duties great sincerity and integrity. He was three times 
married and his son, Loyal C. Kellogg, was long time an eminent judge of the 
Supreme Court. 

David L. Farnham, born in Benson in 1803; graduated at Middlebury 
College in 1823 ; studied law with John Kellogg; admitted to the bar in 1826, 
and practiced in Benson until 1828, when he removed to Enosburgh. Vt., and 
subsequently to Manlius, N. Y., where he died a few years since. 

Ira Harman was born in Pawlet in 1781 ; studied law with Nathaniel Har- 
man, and admitted to the bar in March, 1800; settled in Benson in 18 10 and 
practiced his profession about twenty years ; for many years was a sufferer 
from chronic hypochondria, and died July 17, 1837, aged fifty-six years. 

Marshall R. Meacham was born in Benson in 1798 ; studied law with John 
Kellogg, and was admitted to the bar in June, 1825 ; practiced until his death 
in August, 1833, aged thirty-four years. 

Samuel Jackson was admitted to the bar in 1 801, and settled in Benson, 
and removed to Ohio in 1804. 

Milo VV. Smith was born in Benson in 1800; studied law in Vergennes, 
and was admitted to the Rutland county bar in September, 1832; and was 
in practice until when he removed to Plymouth, Indiana, where he died. 

Loyal Case Kellogg was born in Benson February 13, 18 16. His father 
was Hon. John Kellogg, long a prominent member of the Rutland county bar. 
Loyal graduated from Amherst College in 1836, and soon afterward entered 
the office of Phineas Smith, of Rutland, finishing his studies with his father in 
Benson. He was admitted to the bar in 1839 and began practice at once in 
Benson. He remained there until 1859, when he was elected judge of the Su- 
preme Court, and removed to Rutland in i860, returning to Benson in 1868. 
He represented Benson in the General Assembly in 1847, 1850, 1851, 1859 
and 1 87 1, where he attained a position among the foremost members. He was 
delegate to the Constitutional Conventions of 1847 ^"<i 1870 and was one of 
the eight delegates from Rutland county to the Constitutional Convention of 



The Courts and the Bench and Bar. 277 

1857, of which he was elected president. The degree of Doctor of Laws was 
conferred on him by Amherst College in 1869. He was elected judge of the 
Supreme Court in 1859, and annually re-elected down to and including 1867, 
declining the last election. He was a fluent writer, the history of Benson, in 
the Vermont Historical Magazine, and much general literature, being from his 
pen. He was an able legislator and occupied a place in the front rank of the 
legal profession. He died at the family homestead in Benson, November 
26, 1872. 

In addition to these, of whom sketches have been given, the following 
attorneys have practiced in Benson : Albert Stevens, the first lawyer in 
the town, practiced two years (1800- 1802); was admitted in Chittenden 
county in 1799. Samuel Jackson began practice in about 1807, but soon left. 
Both of these are said to have not borne good characters. Ira Harmon settled 
here in 1 810 and continued practice about twenty years. John Kellogg, father 
of Loyal Case Kellogg, settled in Benson in May, 18 10, and practiced until 
1840. Marshall R. Meacham began practice here in 1825 and continued to 
his death in 1833. David L. Farnham practiced from 1826 to 1828, and died 
in Manlius, N. Y., to which place he removed. Richard W. Smith practiced 
one year, 1 830. Milo W. Smith was in practice from 1831 to 1S52, when he 
removed to Indiana, and there died. 

Ebenezer N. Briggs was born in Marlboro, Mass., in 1801 ; studied law 
with Gordon Newell at Pittsford, and was admitted to the bar in December, 
1823, and settled in practice at Salisbury. He represented that town in the 
Legislature from 1 83 1 to 1835, and was speaker of the Assembly from 1834 
to 1836. He was a member of the first Senate of Vermont from Addison 
county in 1836-37 and '38, and was the first president of the Senate. He was 
State's attorney of Addison county from 1831 to 1840, and a member of the 
Constitutional Convention in 1828. Mr. Briggs removed to Brandon in 1840, 
and became equally prominent as a lawyer and in political affairs. He was 
representative in 1845 and 1848, and was speaker of the House both years. 
He was also senator from Rutland county three years, 1842 to 1844. He 
was also State's attorney two years. He was a lawyer of wide practice up to 
near the time of his death. He died at Brandon. 

Rodney V. Marsh, of Brandon, was born July 11, 1807, and became con- 
spicuous in the legal profession. He went to Brandon in 1832, after having 
studied with Rodney C. Royce and Silas H. Hodges, in Rutland. He was an 
ardent politician, was elected to the Legislature in 1856, 1857 and 1858, and 
took an active part in the debates of those sessions. He was a man of broad 
culture, extensive reading and e.xcellent natural talent. He died March 8, 
1872, at Brandon. 

Samuel D. Wing was born in Rochester, Windsor count)', Vt., February 4, 
1823 ; educated at the Vermont Literary and Scientific Institution ; studied law 



2/8 History of Rutland County. 

with Hon. Ezra June and Hon. Milo L. Bennett, and admitted to the bar in 
1844. After a few years' practice at Brandon, abandoned the profession and 
became connected with railroads. He died at Brandon, November 6, 1863. 

Barzillai Davenport was a native of Dummerston ; studied law with Hon. 
John Lynde, of Williamstovvn, and located in Brandon in 1822 ; he remained 
there in practice forty-six years, forty-one of which he was town clerk. He 
was justice of the peace twenty-eight years ; representative in the Legislature 
1854-55 ; one of the assistant judges of the County Court in 1855-56 and 
1857. He was much respected as a man and stood high in his profession. 

Other attorneys who practiced in the town of Brandon were Elijah Parker, 
Willard J. Parker, Charles L. Williams, SamuelM. Conant and A. A. Nicholson. 

Hon. Chauncey Langdon was one of the conspicuous members of the legal 
profession in Rutland county. He was born in Farmington, Conn., in 1764, 
and graduated from Yale College in 1792. His law studies were pursued with 
Judge Gilbert, of Hebron, Conn., after which he came to Castleton, and there 
resided until his death in July, 1830. In 1789 and 1800 he was probate judge 
for the Fairhaven district ; was elected a trustee of Middlebury College in 181 1 ; 
was a Member of Congress in 18 15-16. At the time of his death he was one 
of the State councilors, and was otherwise honored by his constituents. It 
was said of him by one who knew him well ; " To the members of the profession 
to which he belonged, he has left an example of unyielding integrity, persever- 
ing diligence and prudent discretion, worthy of their highest respect and imi- 
tation. " 

Hon. Benjamin Franklin Langdon was a son of the above ; born in Castle- 
ton October 12, 1798; graduated at Union College in 181 8 and from the Law 
School in Litchfield, Conn., in 1820; was admitted to the Rutland county bar 
in 1 82 1 and practiced until his death. May 31, 1862. In 1837 he was appointed 
register of probate for the district of Fairhaven, holding the office until 1845. 
In 1852 he was elected one of the County Court judges, and retained the office 
until 1855. As a lawyer he was well read and a safe and judicious counselor. 

Abiel Pettibone Mead was born in Rutland, April 12, 1789, and graduated 
at Middlebury in 181 3. He first read medicine with Edward Tudor, of Mid- 
dlebury, and attended lectures in Philadelphia ; but he practiced medicine only 
a few months, when he began reading law with Hon. Chauncey Langdon, of 
Castleton, and practiced there until his death, July 28, 1839. He was register 
of probate for the district of Fairhaven from 18 14 to 1823 and from 1829 to 
1837; representative from Castleton from 183 i to 1833, and State's attorney 
for Rutland county from 1829 to 1835. 

Other attorneys who attained some prominence in the town of Castleton 
were Hon. Isaac T. Wright, who was admftted in 1832 and practiced until his 
death in 1862, at the age of fifty-three. He was an assistant judge, and rep- 
resented the town in the Legislature in 1859-60. Hon. Almon Warner, born 



The Courts and the Bench and Bar. 279 

in Poultney in 1792, admitted to the Rutland county bar in 1825 ; removed to 
Castleton in 1831 ; register of probate from 1824 to 1829, and judge of probate 
from 1 83 1 to his death in 1 861. Selah H. Merrill, born in Castleton in 1795 ; 
graduated at Middlebury 1813 ; studied law with Hon. Chauncey Langdon and 
admitted in 1816. He died in 1836; was register of probate from 1830 to 
1839; State's attorney from 1830 to 1835 ; he is remembered as a man of ex- 
ceptional talents and high standing. Robert Temple was a native of Braintree, 
Mass., born in 1783; studied law with Hon. Chauncey Langdon and admitted 
in 1804. He settled first at Castleton and subsequently removed to Rutland, 
where he died in 1834. He was clerk of the County Court from 1803 to 1820. 

Hon. Silas H. Hodges, son of Henry Hodges, of Clarendon, was born in 
1804, and graduated from Middlebury College in 1821 ; he was admitted to 
the bar in 1825 and with the exception of a few years, from 1833 to 1 841, 
when he was employed in the ministry, followed his profession in Rutland 
until 1 86 1. At the latter date he was appointed to a position in the patent 
office. 

Spencer Green was a native of Clarendon ; studied with W. H. Smith, fin- 
ishing in Wallingford ; after his admission he practiced in Rutland to about I 850, 
when he remo\-ed to Danby. He joined the Union army and died from dis- 
ease contracted in the service. 

Among the attorneys who practiced in Danby and have died, may be men- 
tioned the following: Hon. Morris H. Cook, born in Chester in 18 16; studied 
with Oramel Hutchinson, of Chester, and began practice in 1840; in 1845 came 
to Danby and was admitted to the bar of Windsor County Court in 1844, and 
to the Supreme Court of Rutland county in 1847. He was elected assistant 
judge of the County Court in 1858, and left a lucreative practice to ser\'e in the 
Seventh Regiment during the Rebellion. 

Jonathan C. Dexter, born at Jay, N. Y., in iSiO, studied law with Hon. 
A. L. Brown, in Rutland, and went to Danby in 1831 ; practiced there five 
years and several years in Rutland, and in 1849 went California, where he 
died. 

Charles E. Bowen was born in Boston, Mass., in 18 16; graduated at Mid- 
dlebury College in 1836; studied law with Salmon Wires, and was admitted 
to the Lamoille county bar in June, 1844, and practiced a few years at Danby. 

William C. Kittredge, son of Dr. Abel Kittredge, was born in Dalton, Mass., 
February 23, 1800; graduated at Williams College in i82i,and studied law 
with Hon. E. H. Mills and Hon. Lewis Strong, of Northampton ; was admit- 
ted to the bar in Kentucky in 1823, returning to Fairhaven in 1824, in De- 
cember of which year he was admitted to the bar of this county. He repre- 
sented the town in Legislature eight years ; was senator two years; two years 
speaker of the House of Representatives ; five years State's attorney ; six 
years judge of the County Court ; one year judge of the Circuit Court; one 



28o History of Rutland County. 

year lieutenant-governor, and seven years assessor of internal revenue. All 
of these posts Judge Kittredge filled with ability and honor. He died in Rut- 
land while on his way to Bennington, June ii, 1869. 

John Burnam, the first lawyer to settle in Middletown, deserves the atten- 
tion of the biographer. He was born in Old Ipswich, Mass., in 1742, and 
came to Bennington the first year of its settlement, 1761. In 1765 he removed 
to Shaftsbury, and although he had not received more than a few weeks of 
schooling, he was prompted to read up a little on law, on account of having 
been worsted in a case growing out of the New Hampshire Grants trouble. He 
accordingly secured a few law books, and so persistently did he study that in 
a short time he became a prominent " pettifogger. " From 1771 to 1779 he 
was engaged in mercantile business in Bennington, then returned to Shaftsbury 
where he remained until 1785 ; was a member of the conventions of 1776-77, 
which declared the independence of Vermont, and was one of the committee to 
draft the declaration ; he represented Bennington in the Legislature at its first 
session. He was engaged in the trial of many of the earliest cases in the Ben- 
nington County Court, and being generally successful he was induced by Na- 
thaniel Chipman and Stephen R. Bradley to take the attorney's oath, which he 
did. He represented Middletown six years and died August i, 1829, aged 
eight\'-seven years. 

Hon. Orson Clark, son of Enos, and grandson of Jonas, was born in Mid- 
dletown February 2, 1802. He taught school several seasons and studied law 
with his uncle, Jonas Clark, and was admitted to the bar at Rutland in Sep- 
tember, 1828; he practiced in Middletown until his death in 1848; he repre- 
sented his town in 1835-36; was town clerk from 1836 to 1842 inclusive, and 
one of the senators from this county in 1840-41. 

General Jonas Clark was the third son of Jonas, sr., and was sixteen years 
old when his father settled in Middletown. His entire school education con- 
sisted of learning to read. His father being poor, the son learned the mason's 
trade, which he followed until he was thirty years old, occupying his evenings 
and leisure in reading and study; thus he obtained most of his legal educa- 
tion, and was admitted to the bar not long after he reached thirty, and soon 
gained a large practice. He held the office of State's attorney sixteen succes- 
sive years; was assessor and collector of government taxes in 1819; repre- 
sented Middletown eighteen years ; was justice of the peace forty years ; was 
candidate (Democratic) for governor in 1849, and a member of three Constitu- 
tional Conventions. As a lawyer he ranked high and always made the prepar- 
ation of his cases a subject of deep study. He died at Middletown February 
21, 1854. He had three sons, Merritt (now living in Middletown), Horace and 
Charles. 

Barker Frisbie was the youngest son of Joel Frisbie, of Middletown, and 
studied law with General Jonas Clark, of that town ; was admitted to the Rut- 



The Courts and the Bench and Bar. 



land bar in 1814, and practiced in Middletovvn until his death, which occurred 
in February, 1821. He was elected town clerk in 1815 and held the office 
until his death. He was a close student, a man of good judgment and gained 
the respect of the community. 

Other Middletown attorneys who have left forever the field of action, were 
Ahiman Lewis Miner, son of Deacon Gideon Miner, jr., who studied law with 
Mallary & Warner, Poultney, and Royce & Hodges, Rutland ; he was admitted 
to the bar in 1832; began practice in Wallingford, but removed to Manches- 
ter in 1835. He was eight years probate register and three years probate judge 
of his district ; two years in the Legislature ; nine years a member of the House 
or Senate ; five years State's attorney for Bennington county, and two years 
Member of Congress from this district. Roswell Buel, jr., was admitted to the 
Rutland county bar in 1845, but did not practice in the later years of his life. 

Hon. Jonathan Brace was, doubtless, the first attorney to settle in Pawlet. 
He was a member of the Council of Censors in 1785, and returned to Connect- 
icut a few years later. 

Nathaniel Harmon practiced law in Pawlet for forty years, and won the 
esteem of his brethren. Much of that long period he was the only attorney in 
the town. He was a member of the Council of Censors in 1834, and of the 
Constitutional Convention in 1836. He died in 1845, aged sixty-five years. 
Hon. Noah Smith, brother of Governor Israel Smith, practiced a few years in 
Pawlet, going there in the early years of the Revolution ; and Hon. Leonard 
Sargent, practiced a short time in the town, and then removed to Manchester. 
Truman Squier, another attorney in the town at an early day, removed to 
Manchester about 1800 where he became prominent. 

Other lawyers of the town, of whom details are not available, were Daniel 
Church, who practiced here for a time ; afterward in Arlington and Benning- 
ton, and died in Toronto ; Nathaniel Harmon and Nathaniel Hamblin, both of 
whom removed to Ohio after a few years' practice ; and George W. Harmon, 
who succeeded his father, Nathaniel, and removed to Bennington. 

Gordon Newell began practice in Pittsford in 1804 He studied with Seth 
Storrs, of Middlebury, and was admitted in 1801. He continued practice until 
late in life and died July 3, 1865, aged eighty-six years. His education was 
not very thorough, but his native talents and great energy enabled him to suc- 
ceed to a remarkable degree. He represented the town in the Legislature in 
1818-19 and was assistant judge of the County Court in 1847-48. 

John Pierpoint, born in Litchfield, Conn., in 1806; studied his profession 
in the Litchfield Law School and was admitted to the Rutland county bar in 
April, 1827. He at once began practice in Pittsford and three years later re- 
moved to Vergennes. He arose to the office of chief justice of the Supreme 
Court of Vermont. 

John G. Newell and James R. Newell, both sons of Gordon Newell, studied 



History of Rutland County. 



law and were admitted, the former in 1 83 I and the latter in 1832. John G. 
practiced in Pittsford until his ill health forced him to abandon the profession. 
James R. practiced with his father a few years^and died August 20, 1864. 

Lyman Granger was born in Salisbury, Conn., 1795 ; graduated at Union 
College in 1820; studied law with Moses Strong, and admitted to tlie bar in 
December, 1821 ; retired from practice in 1826. Represented Pittsford in 
1826-27. Died in 1840, aged forty-five. 

James Saterlee studied law with John Cook, and was admitted about 1800, 
and was the first lawyer of Poultney ; removed to New York in 1808. 

Hon. Zimri Howe was born in Poultney in 1786 and graduated from Mid- 
dlebury College in 18 10. He studied law with Judge Seymour, of Middle- 
bury, settled in Castleton, where he continued to practice until his death in I 862, 
at the age of seventy-seven years. He was State senator in 1836—37 and one 
of the assistant judges of the County Court from 1839 to 1844. Although 
his life was not a public one to the extent that fell to the lot of many others, 
it was none the less useful. He was earnest and efficient in supporting and 
improving the schools, and was a trustee of the Rutland County Grammar 
School for many years, as well as a member of the corporation of Middlebury 
College. He was also a zealous advocate of the temperance cause, and all 
benevolent societies found in him a strong supporter. 

Hon. Rollin C. Mallary was one of the most eminent of the early members 
of the county bar. He was born at Cheshire, Conn., May 27, 1784, and re- 
sided there until 1795, when he came to Vermont, locating with his parents in 
Poultney. He graduated from Middlebury College in 1 80 1, and such progress 
had he already made in his professional studies that he was admitted to the 
bar in this county in March, 1807. The next October he was appointed by 
Governor Smith as secretary of the governor and council. He afterward held 
the same office from 180910 1812 and from 1815 to 1819. He soon took 
rank among the ablest lawyers in the county and was given the office of State's 
attorney from 181 1 to 181 3 and in 18 16. He was defeated for Congress in 
1819, owing to the fact that the votes of several towns were not returned early 
enough to be counted. He contested the seat and was successful. So ably 
did he fill the high office that he received si.x successive re-elections, and his 
services were of the highest value. He lived in Castleton until about the time 
of his going to Congress. He died in Baltimore April 15, 1831. 

Moses G. Noyes, son of Moses, born in Duchess county, N. Y., in 1794; 
graduated a Middlebury in 18 19; studied law with David Russell in New York 
State and was admitted in 1825. He practiced in Poultney about four years 
and then removed to New York. He died in 1832. 

William Buell, born January 12, 1835; graduated at the University of 
Michigan in 1853 and studied law with J. B. Beaman, of Poultney, and admit- 
ted in Rutland county at the March term of 1857. He never practiced here, 
having taken up the study of theology, and died September I 1, 1859. 



The Courts and the Bench and Bar. 283 

James S. Harris was born in Canaan, N. H., January 27, 1788 He studied 
law with Richard Skinner, in Manchester, Bennington county, and was admit- 
ted to the bar of that county in 181 2. He came to Poultney probabi)' not long 
afterward and secured a good practice. He died March 11, i866. 

Hon. Eh'sha Ward, born June 20, 1804, in East Poultney ; won a high po- 
sition in the profession. He studied with Judge Woods, of Granville, N. Y., 
and passed most of his life, when not filling public office, in western New 
York. 

Julian Griswold, born in Poultney in 1804, studied law with Hon. Chaun- 
cey Langdon, of Castleton, after having graduated from Castleton Academy. 
He practiced in Whitehall from 1828 to 1833, went South and died in Georgia 
in 1836. 

Alexander Woodruff Buel, born in Poultnc}' in 18 1 3, fitted at Castleton 
and read law with Jabez Parkhurst, of Fort Covington, J. G. Buel and Hon. 
B. F. Langdon, of Castleton ; removed to Detroit in 1834, and became eminent 
in politics. 

Hon. Darwin A. Finney was born in Shrewsbury November 3, 1814; 
studied law with H. L. Richmond and was admitted to the bar in 1841. He 
spent his active life in Meadville, and died there after having attained eminence 
in his profession. He held several high offices in his adopted town. 

Obadiah Noble, of Tinmouth, was a native of New Hampshire, and was 
brought to Tinmouth when a child, and died there in 1864 at the age of 
eighty-seven years. He was justice of the peace thirty-eight years ; register 
of probate in 1799 ; judge of probate from 18 14 to 1828, and assistant judge 
of the County Court from 1839 to 1842 inclusive; represented the town in 
Legislature six years, and was senator from the county in 1838-39; was mem- 
ber of the Council of Censors in 1827 and member of the Constitutional Con- 
ventions of 1828 and 1836. He was a man of strong character and intellect. 
Henry Ballard, now in practice in Burlington, is a native of Tinmouth, born in 
1836; graduated at the Vermont University in 1861, and from the Albany 
Law School in 1863 ; was admitted in September, 1864. 

The foregoing sketch embraces brief records of most of the members of the 
county bar who attained positions entitling them to notice and have passed 
away. At the present time the bar of Rutland county includes in its member- 
ship many who are eminent in the profession and will compare favorably with 
that of any county in New England. Following is a list of the names of the 
present bar : 

Brandon, George Briggs, Henry C. Harrison, Edward S. Marsh, Eben J. 
Ormsbee, W. P. Wheeler. 

Castleton, J. B. Bromley, H. L. Clark, M. H. Cook, John Howe, M. J. 
Harrington. 

Fairhaven, George M. Fuller, W. H. Preston, C. M. Willard. 



History of Rutland County. 



Middletown, Roswell Buell. 

Pittsford, C. S. Colburn. 

Poultney, John B. Beaman, Barnes Frisbie, E. S. Miller, F. S. Piatt, Elijah 
Ross, W. H. Rowland. 

Pawlet, Fayette Potter, D. W. Bromley. 

Rutland, Wayne Bailey, Joel C. Baker, James Barrett, James C. Barrett, 
Fred. M. Butler, A. G. Coolidge, Edward Dana, Walter C. Dunton, Edwin 
Edgerton, Henry Hall, Henry A. Harman, Charles L. Howe, David N. 
Haynes. P. R. Kendall, G. E. Lawrence, P. M. Meldon, Edward D. Merrill, 
Edward R. Morse, Thomas W. Maloney, D. E. Nicholson, Frank C. Partridge, 
John Prout, Redfield Proctor, L. W. Redington, Warren H. Smith, Henry H. 
Smith, F. G. Swinington, John D. Spellman, Reuben R. Thrall, W. G. Veazey, 
Aldace F. Walker, Charles K. Williams. 

Shrewsbury, Ebenezer Fisher. 

Wallingford, Harvey Button. 

East Wallingford, Henry P. Hawkins. 

Westhaven, R. C. Abell. 

West Rutland, Joseph E. Manley, W. B. Butler, E. D. Reardon. 

Brief records of these attorneys will be found in the various town histories^ 



CHAPTER XVin. 

SECRET .SOCIETIES. 

Early Masonic Lodges — Organization of the Grand Lodge of Vermont — Sketches of the Grand 
Masters — Prominent Rutland County Masons — Elective Officers of the Grand Lodge from its Or- 
granization to the Present — History of Center Lodge — Its Reorganization and Officers — Rutland 
Lodge No. 79 — Hiram Lodge No. loi — Royal .\rch Masons — Lodges in the Various Towns — Odd 
Fellowship in Rutland County — History of the First Lodge — Grand Army of the Republic. 

FREE MASONRY. — Masonic lodges were chartered in this State as early 
as 1784, the first being Vermont Lodge, at Windsor, which for nearly a 
decade of years was the only organized body in this jurisdiction. Dorchester 
Lodge, at Vergennes, was organized in 1798; Union, at Middlebury, 1798; 
Washington, at Burlington, 1794; Franklin, at St. Albans, 1794; Center, at 
Rutland, October 15, 1794; Morning Sun, at Bridport, in 1800, etc. The 
Grand Lodge of Vermont, was organized in 1794; Noah Smith, grand master; 
Enoch Woodbridge, deputy grand master ; John Chipman, senior grand war- 
den ; Jonathan White, junior grand warden ; Nathaniel Brush, grand treasurer ; 
Thomas Tolman, grand secretary ; William Cooley, grand senior deacon, and 
Roswell Hopkins, grand junior deacon. 



Secret Societies. 



Noah Smith was a native of Connecticut, and we have reason to beUeve he 
was made a Mason in that State before he came to Vermont. He resided for a 
time in Rutland, and was a judge of the Supreme Court in 1789, '91, '92, and 
'93. He died at Bennington and was buried with Masonic honors. Enoch 
Woodbridge was a prominent citizen of Vermont, a judge of tlie Supreme 
Court in 1798, '99 and 1800, and the grandfather of our honored brother, Hon. 
Frederick E. Woodbridge, of Vergennes. John Chipman, the grand senior 
warden, was a native of Connecticut, and afterward the honored grand master 
of Vermont for eighteen years. In 1766 he left Salisbury, Conn., with fifteen 
other young men and became a pioneer settler of the Lake Champlain valley, 
at Salisbury. He was an aid to the first Governor Chittenden, sheriff of Addi- 
son county for twelve years, was in the battle of Le.xington, shouldered his 
musket and was with Ethan Allen at Ticonderoga, accompanied Seth Warner's 
regiment to Canada, and participated in the capture of St. Johns and Montreal. 
He was at the battles of Hubbardton, Bennington and Saratoga, and com- 
manded at Fort Edward and Fort George. He was made a Mason at Albany, 
N. Y., in 1779, and was a charter member of Dorchester Lodge, No. i, at Ver- 
gennes. He died at Middlebury full of honors and years and received a Ma- 
sonic burial. 

Nathaniel Brush was an honored citizen of Bennington. Thomas Tolman, 
the first grand secretary, and there has been but eleven since his day, was a 
prominent citizen of Vermont, and quite a public spirited and loyal citizen in 
the earlier days of the Mountain Republic, as it was called in the ancient days. 
William Cooley, the grand senior deacon, was a resident of Rupert, and died 
esteemed by all who knew him. The grand junior deacon. Colonel Roswell 
Hopkins, in his day was known and read of all men ; clei'k of the Legislature 
from 1779 to 1788, secretary of State from 1788 to 1 80 1 ; an honored citizen 
and Mason, and received Masonic honors at his burial. The following brief 
biographical notes of other Grand officers must suffice us. John Chipman, of 
whom we have spoken, was the second grand master. Jonathan Nye, the 
third grand master, was a prominent clergyman. Lemuel Whitney, the fourth 
grand master, was a giant in his day, both physically, morally and mentally ; 
a native of Massachusetts, he came to Brattleboro in 1787, and died there 
April 4, 1847, and was laid to rest with the services of the institution he had 
so long loved and served so well. It is said of him: "The Masonic jewels 
he wore never invested a nobler man or covered a better heart." 

The fifth grand master was George Robinson, an honored citizen of Bur- 
lington. Phineas White was the sixth grand master. The seventh grand mas- 
ter was George E. Wales, who served for two years. He was a genial and 
beloved member of the craft whose kindly nature and free heart proved his 
misfortune. He represented Vermont in Congress from 1824 to 1829. The 
eighth grand master was Nathan B. Haswell, a sterling man, representing one 



286 History of Rutland County. 

of the early, prominent and loj'al families of Vermont. He occupied the Ori- 
ental chair from 1829 to 1S47, during that period of storm and fire, when timid 
men quailed and lost heart before the violent tempest that surrounded them ; 
but he, lion-hearted, like a towering monument took his position, firm and un- 
yielding as the granite of our mountains, never hauled down the banner of 
Masonry, and never allowed a friend or foe to trample upon it under any cir- 
cumstances. His firm position, while it brought him political ostracism, social 
and religious disfranchisement, gained the respect of his more considerate and 
thoughtful fellow men. While the fires burned dimly upon the altars of our 
lodges, there was a quiet and unostentatious band of men, who annually relit 
the three great lights, and the Grand Lodge never failed to convene for four- 
teen years, when not a single subordinate existed for it to represent. 

It was the Great Grand Lodge to him, and a gallant band of men stood 
beside him, and the roll is an honored one : Philip C. Tucker, Luther B. Hunt, 
Lavius Fillmore, Wyllys Lyman, Barnabas Ellis, John Brainard, Joseph Howes, 
Ebenezer T. Englesby, Dan. Lyon, Oramel H. Smith, John B. Hollenbeck, 
Sumner A. Webber, William Hidden and David A. Murray. When the 
thunder had ceased and the clouds cleared away over the field of this terrific 
political and religious battle, these stalwart men stood erect, unharmed. God- 
like, consistent and faithful Masons. Among their associates were Samuel S. 
Butler, Barzillai Davenport, Joshua Doane, Samuel Wilson, Coit Parkhurst, 
Heman Green and Oramel Williams. 

George M. Hall was a prominent physician of the town of Swanton, and 
was grand master in 1868, '69 and'70. He was an eminent member of the 
order. L. B. Englesby held the office from 1862 to 1867 inclusive, and hon- 
ored it in every way. The others who have held the high office are living. 
Rutland has had but one grand master, Henry H. Smith, who filled the office 
with ability and honor in 1S76 and 1877. Mr. Smith was born in Middletown, 
Vt., April 3, 1837; received a good English education; came to Rutland in 
April, 1854; studied law with Reuben R. Thrall and Charles L.Williams, and 
was admitted in September, 185 8. He has held the office of county clerk 
since 1868. 

Among the men who were the early promoters of the plan of Masonry in 
Vermont were brother Nathaniel Chipman, whose fame as a jurist has been 
excelled by few. He never released his interest in the lodge, or his punctual 
attendance upon its communications, whether upon the bench of the Supreme 
Court in the United States Senate, or as United States District Judge, and dur- 
ing his residence in Rutland was a frequent if not constant attendant upon old 
Center Lodge. His name is recorded quite frequently as a visitor in Washing- 
ton, Alexandria, Lodge, from 1797 to 1803, while United States Senator, that 
then being the nearest lodge to the national capital. His predecessor in the 
Senate, brother Isaac Tichenor, was also a frequent visitor to the same lodge. 



Secret Societies. 287 



He was made a Mason in a military lodge while a lieutenant under Washington 
in the regular army. His afiiliation at the time of his death was with Rain- 
bow Lodge at Middletown, of which he was at one time master. 

The following list of those who have been prominent in the Order in this 
count)' are given by Mr. Clark : Ira Allen, Seth Warner, Jonas Fay, Thomas 
Cliittenden, Martin Chittenden, Gamaliel Painter, Ebenezer Allen, Heman 
Allen, Isaac Tichenor, Israel Smith, Nathaniel Niles, Daniel Chipman, Samuel 
Hitchcock, E. D. Woodbridge, David Edmunds, Thomas Leverett, Rev. Wil- 
liam Miller, General Sylvester Churchill, Daniel Baldwin, John Stanley, Ly- 
man Mower, Martin Field, Jabez Proctor, Salmon Dutton, D. Azro, A. Buck, 
Jeremy L. Cross, Samuel Goss, Jeduthan Loomis, Jonas Clark, Norman Wil- 
liams, Martin Roberts, Rev. Aaron Leland, Reuben Wood, Rev. Samuel H. 
Tupper, Rev. Joel Clapp, Hastings Warren, Daniel L. Potter, Henry Stanley, 
Orlando Stevens, David P. Noyes. Rev. Ira Ingraham, Robert B. Bates, Rev. 
Sherman Kellogg, Rosvvell Bottum, John Kellogg, Benson, Rev. Josiah Hop- 
kins, New Haven, Rev. Joel Winch, Northfield, Dudley Chase, Randolph, 
George B. Shaw, Rev. Truman Seymour, Rev. Silas McKeen, D. D. The 
later and more familiar names are Jacob Collamer, Charles Linsley, Julius 
Converse, Leonard Sargent, Rev. Kitteridge Haven, Luther L. Dutcher, Ho- 
ratio Needham, Daniel Needham, Hampden Cutts, Merritt Clark, Homer E. 
Hubbell, Harvey Munsill, Frederick E. Woodbridge, George F. Edmunds, H. 
Henry Powers, George W. Hendee, Franklin Fairbanks, John Prout, Charles 
H. Joyce, Kittridge Haskins, Jacob Estey, R. W. Clarke, B. D. Harris, Edwin 
Wheelock, Norman Sea\'er, Edward S. Dana, George Nichols and J. W. Hobart. 



History of Rutland County. 



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290 History of Rutland County. 

Center Lodge, No. 6, was the first lodge granted by the Grand Lodge after 
its organization. This was done at a session held as the record reads which 
" met at the house of Brother Gove in Rutland " on October 15, 1794. The 
petitioners were Nathaniel Chipman, Jonathan Wells, Jonathan Parker, jr., Is- 
rael Smith and Cephas Smith, jr. The charter bears date Bennington, Janu- 
ary 9, 1795, and of Masonry 5795, signed Noah Smith, grand master, Thomas 
Tolman, grand secretary. The first officers named were Nathaniel Chipman, 
worshipful master; Jonathan Wells, senior warden ; Jonathan Parker, jr., jun- 
ior warden. 

Among the Rutland men who were prominent in this lodge in past years 
may be mentioned William Storer, the printer who taught Horace Greeley, 
" the art preservative ; " Medad Sheldon, father of Dr. Lorenzo Sheldon ; Gor- 
don Newell, who was for many years county judge; Jesse Gove, at whose 
house the first grand lodge in Rutland convened; James and Ezekiel Porter; 
Darius Chipman, brother of Nathaniel and Daniel ; William Page, jr., father 
of the late ex-governor, John B. Page; Samuel Williams, LL. D., and his son 
Charles K., both eminent men in the State; William Gookin, the manufactu- 
rer and merchant of Center Rutland ; Dr. Silas Bowen, of Clarendon, and 
man}' others of later years whom we cannot stop to note. 

In connection with this lodge Mr. Clark wrote as follows: "The by-laws 
of Center Lodge, No. 6, were models, and since I have made them a study, it 
has occurred to me that a single article would adapt them to the present as to 
make them far superior to those now in use. Some of the provisions will be 
given. The regular communications were on the second Monday of each 
month, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, unless previously dispensed with ; the fes- 
tival of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, was to be celebrated, 
which generally ended by one celebration on the 24th of June. There were 
twelve celebrations, the memoranda of which were preserved among the papers 
of the late Chauncey K. Williams. I cannot enumerate them in full. Charles 
K. Williams pronounced an oration St. John's Day, June 24, 1828, on the life 
of our distinguished brother De Witt Clinton. The manuscript is undoubtedly 
in the possession of his family. It was never published. On other occasions 
orations were delivered June 24, before Center Lodge, by Rev. Amos Dewey, 
Rodney C. Royce, William Page, jr.. Rev. Ebenezer Hibbard, Rev. Hadley 
Proctor, Rev. Nathaniel Niles, Silas H. Hodges, Cephas Smith, jr., and Philip 
C. Tucker, which was probably the last, in 1830." 

Center Lodge was reorganized by a dispensation granted by Philip C. 
Tucker, grand master, to Leland Howard, Calvin Spencer, Dike W. Hall, W. 
W. Bailey, Charles Woodhouse, Amasa Pooler, Ruel Parker, Lorenzo Sheldon, 
O. H. Round, E. Bailey, Truman L. Reed, Abel Dunklee, Benjamin Smith, 
Henry Holden, A. Dikeman, Joel M. Mead, Luther Thrall. Dike W^ Hall, 
master ; Ruel Parker, senior warden ; W. W. Bailey, junior warden. The ap- 



Secret Societies. 291 



pointed officers were : O. H. Rounds, senior deacon ; Calvin Spencer, junior 
deacon ; Joseph Gaskill, treasurer ; Henry Holden, secretary. The first meet- 
ing was held February 3, 1853. Miner Hilliard was the candidate to receive 
the degrees. In January brother W. W. Bailey, an efficient member, died, and 
a series of memorial resolutions were adopted. Until 1855 the duties of the 
principal officers were performed by brothers Barzillai Davenport, Benjamin 
Smith and O. H. Rounds. On the 26th of June, 1856, a public installation 
took place at the Congregational Church, Barzillai Davenport, of Brandon 
deput)' grand master, presided. An address was delivered before a large au- 
dience by Henry Smith, of Claremont, N. H. After the address the lodge 
was publicly consecrated and the following officers of the lodge installed : 
Benjamin Smith, worshipful master; O. H. Rounds, S. W. ; Ruel Parker, J. 
W. ; Joseph Gaskill, treas. ; Amasa Pooler, sec. ; Calvin Spencer, S. D. ; E. 

A. Pond, J. D. ; S. D. Jenness, H. S. Smith, stewards; J. H. Smith, tyler. 
The procession then moved to the Franklin House, where the lodge partook 
of dinner. The principal officers in each year have been as follows : 

1856, O. H. Rounds, M. ; S. D. Jenness, S. W. ; Z. V. K. Wilson, J. W. 
1857, Z. V. K. Wilson, M. ; S. D. Jenness. S. W. ; E. A. Pond, J. W. 1858, 
E. A. Pond, M. ; E. V. N. Harwood, S. W. ; Charles B. Frost, J. W. 1859, 
E. A. Pond, M. ; Samuel Williams, S. W. ; E. A. Morse, J. W. 1S60, Sam- 
uel D. Jenness, M. ; O. H. Rounds, S. W. ; J. W. Cramton, J. W. 1S61, Sam- 
uel Williams, M. ; W. H. Hotchkiss, S. W. ; Moses Hayward, J. W. 1862, 
Samuel Williams, M. ; W. H. Hotchkiss, S. W. ; A. R. Howard, J. W. 1863. 
W. H. Hotchkiss, M. ; A. R. Howard, S. W. ; Ben K. Chase, J. W. 1864, 
Z. V. K. Wilson, M. ; Ben K. Chase, S. W. ; William T. Nichols, J. W. 1865, 
E. A. Pond, M. ; Charles H. Sheldon, S. W. ; N. S. Stearns, J. W. 1S66, 
Charles H. Sheldon, M. ; Ben K. Chase, S. W. ; B. W. Marshall, J. W. 1867, 
Charles H. Sheldon, M. ; B. W. Marshall, S. W. ; A. P. Fuller, J. W. 1868, 

B. W. Marshall, M. ; John A. Sheldon, S. W. ; A. P. Fuller, J. W. 1869, B. 
W. Marshall, M. ; John A. Sheldon, S. W. ; H. H. Smith, J. W. 1870, John 
H, Sheldon, M. ; Henry H. Smith, S. W. ; Hiram A. Smith, J. W. 1871, 
John A. Sheldon, M. ; Henry H. Smith, S. W. ; Hiram A. Smith, J. W. 1872, 
Henry H. Smith, M. ; Hiram A. Smith, S. W. ; C. F. Rollin, J. W. 1873, 
Henry H, Smith, M. ; Hiram A. Smith, S. W. ; C. V. Rollin, J. W. 1S74, 
Hiram A. Smith, M. ; C. V. RoUin, S. W. ; Thomas C. Robbins, J. W. 1875, 
Hiram A. Smith, M. ; Thomas C. Robbins, S. W. ; George P. Russell, J. W. 
1876, Thomas C. Robbins, M. ; George P. Russell, S. W. ; E. M. Edgerton, J. 
W. 1877, Thomas C. Robbins, M. ; George P. Russell, S. W. ; E. M. Edger- 
ton, J. W. 1878, Thomas C. Robbins, M. ; Judah Dana, S. W. ; Charles E. 
Ross, J. W. 1879. Thomas C. Robbins. M. ; Charles E. Ross, S. W. ; John 
N. Woodfin, J. W. 1880, Charles E. Ross, M. ; John N. Woodfin, S. W. ; 
Frank B. Kidder, J. W. 1881, Charles E. Ross, M. ; John N. Woodfin, S. W. 



292 History of Rutland County. 

William H. .Bryant, J. W. 1882, John N. Woodfin, M. ; Edward Dana, S. 
W. ; Stephen W. Mead, J. W. 1883, J. N. Woodfin, M. ; Edward Dana, S. 
W. ; Stephen W. Mead, J. W. 1S84, Edward Dana, M. ; Stephen W. Mead, 
S. W. ; Charles Turner, J. W, 

Rutland Lodge, No. 79. — This was the second lodge in the town and its 
charter was granted by the Grand Lodge June 11, 1868, to Z. V. K. Wilson, 
J. Dunham Green, Samuel E. Burnham, L. L. Pearsons, W. H. Schryver, Silas 
T. Holcomb, Leander Morton, M. M. Crooker, Albert Pratt, N. L. Davis, Sam- 
uel D. Jenness, William B. Thrall, Ben. Tilley, Charles E. Campbell, Fred. A. 
Shattuck, C. S. Kingsley and Nathan Stearns. The roll of principal officers 
has been: 1867, J. Dunham Green, M. ; S. D. Jenness, S. W. ; N. L. Davis, 
J. W. 1868, Nathan S. Stearns, M. ; William B. Thrall, S. W. ; L. H. Hager, 
J. W. 1869, Z. V. K. Wilson, M. ; L. L. Pearsons, S. W. ; S. T. Holcomb, 
J. W. 1870, L. L. Pearsons, M. ; J. H. Mclntyre, S. W. ; S. T. Holcomb, J. 
W. 1871, L. L. Pearsons, M. ; A. H. Cobb, S. W. ; Ion Lippincott, J. W. 
1872, Ion Lippincott, M. ; George E. Clark, S. W. ; Charles E. Campbell, J. 
W. 1873, L. L. Pearsons, M. ; A. S. Marshall, S. W. ; John M. Otis, J. W. 

1874, L. L. Pearsons, M. ; A. S. Marshall, S. W. ; George E. Clark, J. W. 

1875, A. S. Marshall, M. ; George E. Clark, S. W. ; Samuel Terrill, J. W. 

1876, A. S. Marshall, M. ; Samuel Terrill, S. W. ; Henry Connor, J. W. 1877, 
A. S. Marshall, M. ; Samuel Terrill, S. W. ; Samuel E. Burnham, J. W. 1878, 
Samuel Terrill, M. ; Samuel E. Burnham, S. W. ; Byron H. Rice, J. W. 1879, 
Samuel Terrill, M. ; Samuel E. Burnham, S. W. ; Charles E. Campbell, J. W. 
1880, Samuel Terrill, M. ; Samuel E. Burnham, S. W. ; Charles E. Campbell, 
J. W. 1 88 1, Samuel Terrill, M. ; J. H. Mclntyre, S. W. ; Charles E. Camp- 
bell, J. W. 1882, John. H. Mclntyre, M. ;' William A. Hill, S. W. ; Moses 
Ford, J. W. 1883, John H. Mclntyre, M. ; William A. Hill, S. W. ; Moses 
Ford, J. W. 1884, John H. Mclntyre, M. ; R. R. Mead, S. W. ; Moses Ford, 
J. W. 

Hiram Lodge, No. lOi. — The charter of this lodge was granted at the ses- 
sion of the Grand Lodge, at Burlington, June 11, 1878, to Lorenzo Sheldon, 
William Gilmore. Hiram A. Smith, Charles H. Sheldon, W. B. Butler, J. M. 
Dewey, Francis Degan, W. W. Dygert, Daniel Fosburg, Frank Gorham, Lo- 
renzo P. Holt, D. D. Holt, L. J. Hoadley, J. E. Harmon, William H. Liscomb, 
Richard Lane, Hugh McNeil, Frank A. Morse, W. A. Thrall, Marcellus New- 
town, C. E. Nason, M. Odell, S. A. Proctor, H. Pritchard, E. D. Poronto, Jo- 
seph Pajeau, Harley G. Sheldon, John A. Salisbury, Charles H. Slason, B. W. 
Seymour, Will Tenny, William K. Strong, C. H. White. 

p'oUowing are the officers to the present time : — 1 879-80, Hiram A. Smith, 
M. ; Marcellus Newton, S. W. ; WillTcnn\-, J. W. 1881, Hiram A. Smith, M. ; 
L. J. Hoadley, S. W. ; R. R. Mead, J. W.' 1882, B. W. Seymour, M. ; L. J. 
Hoadley, S. W. ; E. C. Fish, jr., J. W. 18S3 and '84, the same officers. 1885, 
L. J. Hoadley, M. ; E. C. Fish, jr., S. W. ; J. G. Crippen, J. W. 



Secret Societies. 293 



Royal Arch Masons. — Davenport Chapter, No. 17, was organized and held 
its first convocation in Rutland, January 14, 1867 ; its charter is dated October 
28, 1867. The charter members were Z. V. K. Wilson, G. J. Wardwell, E. A. 
Pond, W. M. Field, L. B. Smith, J. B. Chandler, S. D. Jenness, A. M. Stockwell, 
G. W. Crawford, J. D. Greene, M. Hayward, L. A. Morse, N. A. Woods, E. L. 
Cardelle, L. Sheldon, C. Spencer, G. W. Morse, J. H. Mclntyre, B. G. Merritt, 
A. Robertson, M. H. Smith, and G. A. Tuttle. The first officers of the chapter 
were as follows : E. A. Pond, H. P. ; S. D. Jenness, K.; M. H. Smith, S.; C. H. 
Sheldon, C. H. ; S. D. Jenness, P. S. ; E. L. Cardelle, R. A. C. ; J. Dana, G. M. 
3d Vail ; A. M. Stockwell, G. M. 2d Vail ; J. H. Mclntyre, G. M. 1st Vail ; G. 
A. Tuttle, treasurer; L. A. Morse, secretary; A. Pooler, sentinel. The present 
officers are as follows: S. TerriU, H. P. ; A. J. Hessehine, K. ; W. S. Terrill, S. ; 
L. G. Kingsley, treasurer ; L. L. Pearsons, secretary ; Rolla Barker, C. H. ; 
James Everson, P. S. ; A. T. Tyrrell, R. A. C. ; George D. Babbitt, master 3d 
Vail ; E. V. Ross, master 2d Vail ; C. M. Gleason, master ist Vail ; C. E. Camp- 
bell, tyler. 

Farmers' Chapter, No. 9 (Brandon) — was chartered August II, 1853, and 
now has the following officers : F. N. Manchester, high priest ; Hiram Rob- 
erts, king; E. J. Bliss, scribe; R. F. Kidder, secretary; James Knapp, treas- 
urer; Ozro Meacham, captain of the host; Charles O. Meacham, principal 
sojourner ; Philip Ahn, royal arch captain ; F. C. Spooner, master 3d vail ; 
V. V. Blackmer, master 2d vail; George A. Crossman, master 1st vail ; R. J. 
Carlisle, steward ; J. W. Symons, steward ; S. F. Calhoun, chaplain ; N. S. 
Capen, tyler. 

PoultJicy Chapter, No. 10 (Poultney) — was chartered August 10, 1854. 
Its present officers are as follows : M. J. Horton, high priest ; M. O. Stod- 
dard, king ; J. H. Tay, scribe ; F. M. Good, secretary. 

Knights Templar — Killington Comtnandery, No. 6 — was organized at 
Rutland and held its first convention July 23, 1867. Following are the names 
of the charter members : M. H. Smith, J. Barrett, L. Howard, E. A. Pond, 
E. A. Morse, E. L. Cardelle, S. D. Jenness, M. S. Richardson, M. Hayward, 
H. E. Chamberlin, L. B. Smith, G. A. Tuttle, G. J. Wardwell, C. H. Sheldon, 
J. D. Green, G. W. Crawford, B. Davenport, E. G. Tuttle and A. Pooler. The 
first officers of the commandery were as follows: M. H. Smith, E. C. ; E. A. 
Pond, gen. ; S, D. Jenness, C. G. ; E. L. Cardelle, prel. ; E. A. Morse, S. W. ; 
C. H. Sheldon, J. W. ; G. A. Tuttle, treas. ; J. D. Green, rec. ; L. B. Smith, 
St. br. ; H. E. Chamberlin, sw. br. ; M. S. Richardson, warden ; James Barrett, 
E. G. Tuttle and M. Hayward, captains of guard ; A. Pooler, sentinel. This 
commandery has always been in a prosperous condition, and now has the fol- 
lowing officers: Will F. Lewis, E. C. ; J. H. Mclntyre, gen. ; J. C. Temple, 
capt. gen. ; S. Terrill, prel. ; A. T. Tyrrell, S. W, ; W. S. Terrill, J. W. ; L. G. 
Kingsley, treas. ; L. L. Pearson, rec. ; F. H. Chapman, st. br. ; E. A. Fuller, 



294 History of Rutland County. 

sw. br. ; Chas. Clark, warden ; G. D. Babbitt, F. J. Wade and C. A. Gale, 
captains of guard ; C. E. Campbell, tyler. 

Davenport Council. — This council was organized under dispensation, June 
17, 1867, and was granted a charter bearing the same date. The officers were 
S. D. Jenness, T. I. M. ; J. B. Chandler, R. I. M. ; W. H. Schryver, I. M. 
The council is now in a prosperous condition and has the following officers: 
T. C. Robins, T. I. M. ; H. H. Smith, R. I. M. ; Samuel TerriU, I. M. ; L. G. 
Kingsley, treasurer; A. S. Marshall, recorder; J. H. Mclntyre, C. of G. ; C. 
E. Kendall, P. C. ; A. J. Hesseltine, steward; R. Barker, sentinel. 

Acacia Lodge, N'o. gi (Benson). — Chartered June 10, 1869. Follovving 
are the names of the first officers : C. R. Hawley, W. M. ; L. D. Ross, S. W. ; 
H. S. Howard, J. W. ; R. P. Walker, treas. ; H. A. Norton, sec. ; D. L. Os- 
good, S. D. ; J. H. Bates, J. D. ; Allen L. Hale, t)'ler. The successive mas- 
ters since Mr. Hawley have been L. Howard Kellogg, D. L. Osgood and A. 
J. Dickinson. 

The present officers of the lodge are as follows : Albert J. Dickinson, W. 
M. ; Ellsworth H. Fay, S. W. ; Perry Carter, J. W. ; Henry S. Howard, treas- 
urer ; Royal D. King, secretary ; David L. Osgood, S. D. ; Wm. Ward, J. D. ; 
Patsey Donahue, Henry S. Howard, stewards ; Geo. E. King, tyler. 

Wasliington Lodge, F. and A. M., No. 21. — The first Masonic organization 
in Brandon was the Washington Lodge No. 21, which was chartered on the 
15th day of October, 1802. The first meeting was held on the 25th of No- 
vember following, at the house of Hiram Norton. The first officers were 
Hiram Norton, W. M. ; Benajah Douglass (grandfather of Stephen A. Doug- 
lass), S. W. ; Penuel Child, J. W. ; Ebenezer Hebard, treasurer; Joseph Haw- 
ley, secretary ; Justin Price, S. D. ; Jesse and James Barrett, stewards ; Asa 
Blackmer, tyler. The lodge went down in 1827 owing to the antipathy created 
by the Morgan excitement. The last officers named on records of 1827, were: 
Barzillai Davenport, W. M. ; G. W. Kelley, S. W. ; John F. Sawyer, J. W. ; 
David Sanderson, treasurer; Matthew W. Birchard, secretary ; Hiram Squires, 
S. D. ; Thomas Davenport, J. D. ; L. Grossman and E. E. Lyon, stewards ; 
Reuben Kirby, tyler. Stephen A. Douglass was an active member of this 
lodge. 

The second and present lodge was chartered in January, 1832, under the 
name of the St. Paul's Lodge, No. 25. Barzillai Davenport, the last W. M. of 
the old lodge, was the first of the present. The present officers are : F. C. 
Spooner, W. M. ; R. F. Kidder, S. W. ; James Knapp, treasurer; E. L. Big- 
low, secretary ; N. S. Capen, S. D. ; Josiah Simmons, J. D. ; Erastus Spooner, 
S. S.; Rollin Griffin, J. S. ; H. O. Sorrell, tyler. 

Lee Lodge, No. 30 (Castleton). — This lodge was organized November 24, 
1852, under dispensation granted by Philip Tucker, grand master, with the fol- 
lowing as its officers : A. G. W. Smith, W. M. ; Almon Warner, S. W. ; Philip 



Secret Societies. 295 



Pond, J. W. ; Solomon Farwell, sec. ; Smith Sherman, treasurer; Philo Hos- 
ford, S. D. ; John R. Spaulding, J. D. The lodge was chartered by its pres- 
ent name January 12, 1854, the charter members being A. G. W. Smith, J. 

B. Spaulding, Joseph Bishop, Chas. Backus, Almon Warner, Philip Pond, Smith 
Sherman and Solomon Farwell. The list of masters to the present time is as 
follows: A. G. W. Smith, to December, 1854; A. C. Hopson, to December, 
1856; A. G. W. Smith, to December, 1837 ; Pitt W. Hyde, to December, 1858 ; 
A. G. W. Smith, to December, 1859; H. F. Smith, to December, 1861; A. 

C. Hopson, to December, 1862 ; Simeon Allen, to December, 1865 ; H. F. 
Smith, to May, 1S67; B. F. Graves, to May, 1870; J. H. Wilson, to May, 
1873 ; E. W. Liddell, to may, 1875 ; E. A. Brien, to January, 1879; E. W. 
Liddell, to January, 1S80; Theron H. Streeter, to Januar)', 1 881; E. A. 
Brien, to January, 1S83; B. F. Graves, to January, 1885 ; Wm. C. Moulton, 
present master. The present officers are : Wm. C. Moulton, W. M. ; E. H. 
Armstrong, S. W. ; Glen A. Roberts, J. W. ; Thos. P. Smith, treasurer ; Jno. 
M. Currier, secretary ; L. H. Corey, S. D. ; W. C. Walker, J. D. ; Josiah N. 
Northrop, chaplain ; L. H. Billings, marshal ; Joseph Williams, R. J. Davis, 
stewards ; N. L. Cobb, tyler. Past masters, Benjamin F. Graves, E. W. Lid- 
nell, Theron H. Streeter. 

Farnicrs Lodge, No. 30 (Danby). — This lodge was chartered October 7, 
and organized October 26, 181 1. The charter members were Perez Brown, 
Nathan Weller, Henry Herrick, jr., Israel Phillips, John Harrington, Israel 
Fisk, David Youngs, and perhaps others. Perez Brown was the first master; 
Nathan Weller, senior warden ; Henry Herrick, jr., junior warden. Meetings 
were held until 1822 at Herrick's Hall, and then it met during 1823 in the hall 
of Charles Wallbridge, at the borough. In 1825 its meetings were again held 
at the Corners. After various changes in its place of meeting, it suspended in 
1832. Most of the prominent citizens of the town were members of this 
lodge. Itslast master was Nathan Weller; senior warden, Josiah Phillips; 
junior warden, Lyman R. Fisk. Masonry was revived here on January 10, 
1866, when Marble Lodge, No. jS, was chartered. The first master was B. 
F. Eddy ; senior warden, W. H. Bond ; junior warden, P. Holton ; treasurer, 
David A. Kelley ; secretary, Luther P. Howe; S. D., Isaac W. Kelley; J. D., 
Oliver G. Baker ; stewards, John J. Sowee, Benajah Colvin ; tyler, Alonzo N. 
Cook. The following have been past masters : Benjamin F. Eddy, William 
H. Bond, Daniel H, Lane, Charles H. Congdon, Plynn Holton, David W. 
Rogers, Jared L. Cook. Following are the present officers of the lodge : Dan- 
iel H. Lane, W. M.; Lilliam H. Cook, S. W.; William R. Parris, J. W.; Austin 
S. Baker, treasurer ; Oscar A. Adams, secretary ; William H. Bond, S. D.; 

, J. D.; Edward J. Read, chaplain ; Caleb Parris, marshal ; 

James C. King, L. H. Ellis, stewards ; Albert A. Williams, tyler. 

Eureka Lodge, No. 75. — This lodge was begun under dispensation in June, 



296 History of Rutland County. 

1866; the charter was granted January 10, 1867, to thirtj'-six members. 
Simeon Allen was the first master; Edward W. Liddell, senior warden; Ham- 
lin T. Dewey, junior warden. The present officers of the lodge are as follows: 
W. O'Brien, W. M.; La Roy Griffin, S. W.; John W. Owens, J. W.; I. W. 
Parkhurst, treasurer; John G. Pitkin, secretary ; W. V. Roberts, S. D.; S. 
Ross, J. D.; L. W. Williams, chaplain ; S. Allen, marshal ; W. Pedrick, Owen 
O. Thomas, stewards; Benjamin E. Lee, tyler. The past masters of the lodge 
are Simeon Allen, William A. Stevens, L. Williams, John G. Pitkin. 

A lodge of Mark Master Masons existed in Fairhaven, called " Morning 
Star Mark Lodge, No. 4," which was first convened at the lodge-room of E. 
Ashley, in Poultney, February 20, 1810. Its officers were E. Buell, W. M.; 
Pliny Adams, S. W.; T. Wilmot, J. W. This lodge appears to have been the 
successor of Aurora Mark Lodge, No. 2, instituted at Poultney under a war- 
rant from Aurora Lodge, No. 25, in 1797 ; the first officers were installed at a 
meeting held at Peter B. French's hotel, in Hampton, April, 5797, as follows : 
Peter B. French. W. M.; A. Murry, S. W.; J. Stanley, J. W.; and David Er- 
win, of Fairhaven, treasurer. Meetings were held part of the time in Poultney 
and part in Hampton. A new dispensation was obtained in January, 1800, 
and the number changed to 16. The last meeting was held in May, 1805. 
Morning Star Lodge* succeeded in February, 1810, and a large number joined. 
At the meeting held on the first Monday in February, 18 18, it was voted that 
the lodge be removed to Fairhaven, and Samuel Martin was appointed a com- 
mittee to inform the grand high priest of the removal. On the i6th of March. 
" agreeably to the dispensation of the grand high priest," Morning Star Lodge 
No. 4 convened at Fairhaven. John P. Colburn was W. M.; Barnabas Ellis, 
S. W.; Thomas Christie, J. W., while among the members were a majority of 
the prominent men of the community. The lodge met several times a year 
at Dennis's lodge-room ; from January, 1823, to February, 1826, it met at John 
Beaman's house — the hotel. The last three meetings of which there are rec- 
ords were held at J. Greenough's inn in November, 1827, and January and 
March, 1828. It was suspended in the anti-Masonic struggle. 

Hiram Lodge, No. 7. — This lodge was organized March 22, 1796, in Paw- 
let, and met at the house of Samuel Rose, where William Cooley was ap- 
pointed master ; Zadock Higgins, senior warden ; George Clark, junior war- 
den. In 1818 Social Royal Arch Chapter No. 10, was chartered in this town, 
the three principal officers being Titus A. Cook, Jonathan Robinson and Phin- 
eas Strong. These organizations suspended meetings in 1S34, and never re- 
sumed. 

Otter Creek Lodge, No. 70 (Pittsford). — Chartered January 12, 1865, and 
has a membership of about forty. The past masters who are living are James 
D. Butler, Rollin S. Meacham, Daniel P. Peabody, Edwin Horton, Rollin C. 
Smith. The present officers of the lodge are as follows: Amos D. Tiffany, 



Secret Societies. 297 



W. M.; Charles A. Flanders, S. W.; Edwin M. Pike, J. W.; Robert R. Drake, 
treasurer: Royal W. Barnard, secretary; Charles A. Arnold, S. D.; Amos 
Baird, J. D.; Edwin Horton, chaplain; Rollin S. Meacham, marshal; Rollin 
C. Smith, Ithiel B. Worden, steward ; Charles J. Fenton, tyler. 

Morning Star Lodge, No. 27. — This lodge was organized in Poultney prior 
to 1800, but the exact date is not known. Among the early masters were 
Harris Horsford, Samuel Ruggles, Captain William Miller, Elisha Ashley, 
Henry G. Neal and Alonzo Howe, all prominent men. The lodge, in common 
with most others in the State, gave up its charter about 1832, on account of the 
anti- Masonic warfare. 

The Chapter was organized in this town early in 1853, the first officers 
being Henry J. Ruggles, H. P. ; S. P. Hooker, K. ; Merritt Clark, scribe. Mr. 
Ruggles held the office of high priest until September, 1861, when he was suc- 
ceeded by Henry Ruggles; the latter held the office until 1875, except the 
years 1 871-72 when M. O. Stoddard assumed the office. 

February 16, 1856, the members of Morning Star Lodge assembled under 
dispensation issued by Philip C. Tucker, grand master of the Grand Lodge. 
Organization was effected with Henry Ruggles as master; G. L. Hunter, sen- 
ior warden ; L. D. Ross, junior warden ; Henry Clark, secretary. The char- 
ter was granted January 15, 1857, and the number IJ given the lodge. Henry 
Ruggles remained master until 1 86 1, and was succeeded by Nelson Ransom, 
who continued to his death in 1867. The masters since that date have been 
M. O. Stoddard, Fonrose Farwell, Henry Ruggles, S. L. Ward, J. L. Clark and 

E. S. Miller. The stone church was purchased by the Masons in 1869 and a 
fine hall fitted up therein. The present officers are : J. H. Fay, W. M. ; C. A. 
Haynes, S. W. ; M. J. Horton, J. W. ; Edward Clark, treasurer ; F. M. Rood, 
secretary; James Murdock, S. D. ; Frederick Cole, J. D. ; James Bullock, 
chaplain ; H. C. Rann, marshal ; M. J. Jones, W. H. Rowland, stewards ; C. 

F. ]5oomer, tyler. The present membership is nearly two hundred. 

Chipman Lodge, No. 52 (Wallingford). — The charter of this lodge was 
granted January 11, 1861, and the following were the first officers : Frederick 
Button, W. M. ; D. H. Sabin, S. W. ; H. Shaw, J. W. The charter membejs 
were Jonathan Remington, E, D. Sabin, P. H. Emerson, O. A. Eddy, T. L. 
Reed, Frederick Button, Seth Philhps, Hosea Eddy, Harvey Shaw, D. H. Sa- 
bin, Higiiland Shaw. Following is a list of masters : O. A. Eddy, Highland 
Bump, E. E. Clark, A. F. Mattison, J. H. Mandigo, E. L. Cobb, F. H. Hoad- 
ley. The lodge has now about forty-five members and the following officers : 
E. A. Fuller, W. M. ; C O. Allen, S. W. ; E. P. Ely, J. W. ; C. L. Higgins, 
treasurer; Charles H. Congdon, secretary; H. G. Thompson, S. D. ; J. N. 
Brown, J. D. John Avery, chaplain ; E. J. Tufts, S. S. ; L. H. Edmonds, J. 
S. ; F. H. Hoadley, marshall ; N. Fassett, tyler. 

Mt. Moriah, No. 96, (East Wallingford). — This lodge was chartered June 



298 History of Rutland County. 

26, 1 87 1, and the following were the officers appointed at that time : Ransel 
Frost, W. M. ; Alvin Frost, S. W. ; O. M. Pelsue, J. W. ; James Starkey, sec- 
retary ; Elias Streeter, treasurer. The membership is now about fifty-five. 
F"ollowing are the names of the present officers : P. L. Allard, W. M. ; O. M. 
Pelsue, S. W. ; Charles T. Miner, J. W. ; D. C. Allard, treasurer ; B. W. Al- 
drich, secretary ; A. E. Doty, S. D. ; L. D. Warner, J. D. ; J. R. Priest, chap- 
lain ; M. Anderson, marshal; E. Stewart, Eugene Chase, stewards; D. A. 
Graves, tyler. The past masters have been, Gilbert E. Johnson, .0. M. Pelsue, 
Lucius R. Earle, John R. Priest, Marshall Anderson. 

It will be seen by this brief record of Free Masonrj' in Rutland county, that 
a large portion of the leading men of the county, those who have either made 
a deep impression upon the various communities represented by them, through 
their public services, or gained the universal respect of their fellows by their 
high character, have been members of this ancient order. At the present time 
Masonry is in a healthy condition in the county and embraces in its ranks very 
many of the leading men. 

Odd Fellowship. — This order has flourished to some extent in this county 
for nearly forty years, and at the present time one lodge and an encampment 
are in existence in Rutland village. 

The first lodge instituted in the county was 

Otter Creek Lodge, No. 10. — On the 9th day of March. 1847, R. M. Fuller, 
James Mitchell, Nathaniel Parker, M. G. Rathburn and S. C. Hyde, of Ben- 
nington, and Charles S. Terrill, of Middlebur}-, appeared and constituted this 
lodge and installed its officers, who were as follows : Dr. James B. Porter, N. 
G. ; Evelyn Pierpoint, V. G. ; General F. W. Hopkins, secretary ; Dr. Cyrus 
Porter, treasurer ; George W. Strong, warden. The by-laws were suspended 
and Robert Hopkins was duly initiated, by Brothers Mitchell, Pierpoint, Fuller, 
and Hyde ; George W. Strong served as warden. The record of this initiation 
reads as follows : " The ceremony on the part of all was conducted with true 
dignity and skill, and particularly in the new office of warden ; and on the part 
of the initiated with becoming fortitude and bearing worthy an Odd Fellow." 

The five original petitioners were prominent citizens of Rutland, as the 
reader of this work will learn. The first regular meeting of the lodge was held 
on the 1 6th of March, 1847. O" this occasion Brother Charles Woodhouse, 
then of Clarendon, presented a card of clearance from Charter Oak Lodge, 
No. 2, of Hartford, Conn., was admitted as an Ancient Odd Fellow and thus 
became the second member of the lodge. He had been for many years an 
Odd Fellow and is now a member of Killington Lodge, in the active perform- 
ance of the duties of the order. It will not be out of place here to remark that 
Brother Woodhouse has well and faithfully performed all duties laid upon him 
and held honorable rank and position, and been honored as a representative of 
the Grand Lodge of Vermont in the Grand Lodge of the United States — the 



Secret Societies. 299 



highest legislative branch of the order — a position which he filled faithfully 
and with distinguished ability for two years. He stands to-day, possibly, as 
the oldest Odd Fellow in Vermont, enjoying the higli regard of all his brethren. 

At the second meeting of the lodge W. E. C. Stoddard, tlien a prominent 
book-seller and publisher in Rutland, was initiated, and Brother Woodhouse 
proposed for membership the late honored brother, William D. Marsh, of Clar- 
endon. At the meeting on the 25th of March, William D. Marsh and George 
R. Orcutt were duly admitted as members. Mr. Marsh was a very efficient 
worker in the lodge and at one time deputy grand master of the Grand Lodge. 
He was a member of Killington Lodge at his death, which joined with the 
Masonic fraternity in paying him a mournful tribute at his burial. 

Otter Creek Lodge, during the first year of its life, made a gradual increase. 
The persons admitted to membership were Alembert Pond, William D. Marsh, 
Alvin Patch, Charles H. Furness, Horace V. Bogue, E. O. Eddy, of Walling- 
ford, Newton Kellogg, E. W. Loveland (of Weston), O. A. Eddy (Wallingford), 
Josiah L. Wilder (of Weston), H. J. Marsh, William B. Shaw, George A. Tut- 
tle, David B. Jones (of Cuttingsville), and Charles Green. 

The first visiting card granted was to W. E. C. Stoddard, for si.x months. 
At the semi-annual election the following officers were chosen : Evelyn Pier- 
point, N. G. ; F. W. Hopkins, V. G. ; George W. Strong, secretary ; Cyrus 
Porter, treasurer. 

The first lodge-room was in an ell part of the old Fay printing-office, so 
called, on Main street, which stood near the site of the present residence of 
Hon. William M. Field. At a special meeting held August 19th, the first 
public address on Odd-Fellowship in Rutland was delivered by A. E. Hovey, 
of New York city. The second person admitted by card was B. F. March, of 
Franklin Lodge, No. 2, Georgia. Dr. James B. Porter was elected representa- 
tive, and Evelyn Pierpoint, alternate, to attend a convention at Montpelier, Au- 
gust 29, for the formation of a grand lodge for the State of Vermont. 

Such is a brief account of the career of this lodge during its first year. 
The following year (1848) was its most 'prosperous period. The officers of 
the first term were. General F. W. Hopkins, N. G.; Dr. Cyrus Porter, V. G.; 
Dr. Charles Woodhouse, secretary ; William D. Marsh, treasurer ; George A. 
Tuttle, warden ; Charles Temple, conductor ; Dr. James B. Porter, guardian. 
Thirty new members were, admitted during the year, as follows: B. Frank 
Wilkins, Abraham Stearns, Benjamin Lewis, Thomas L. Sheldon, J. Graves 
Benton, George Hopkins, and William Perkins, of Rutland, all of whom took 
a card of clearance, for the purpose of forming a new lodge at the place of 
their residence ; Henry J. Burdock, B. Rosenblatt, of East Poultney, Cassius 
W. Buck, Hiram W. Bennett, Harry Adams, D. L. Green, H. C. Levanway, 
Rev. W. W. Ford, John Price, Gilbert Foster, Hiram Adams (of Ludlow), 
F. C. Robbins, E. M. Boynton, L. G. Hammond (of Ludlow), W. D. Button, 



300 History of Rutland County. 

Ira Chaplin, S. W. Dame, George S. Hoard, Green Arnold, James W. Fisher, 
Charles H. Kinsman and Moses Frink. The officers during the second term 
were Dr. Cyrus Porter, N. G.; Charles Woodhouse, V. G.; W. D. Marsh, sec- 
retary ; George A. Tuttle, treasurer ; John Price, warden ; B. F. Wilkins, con- 
ductor ; C. W. Buck, inside guardian. 

The lodge continued to prosper during the year and there are few inci- 
dents to note. The first benefits paid to a sick brother by the lodge were 
voted W. E. C. Stoddard February 8, 1848. The first death was that of 
Charles Green, which was reported F'ebruary 22, 1848, and at the next meet- 
ing brothers George A. Tuttle and Evelyn Pierpoint reported memorial reso- 
lutions. The first board of trustees was created June 13, and Evelyn Pier- 
poin. George A. Tutde and C. W. Buck were appointed. 

The year 1849 does not seem to have been so prosperous as the preceding 
one. The officers for the first term were, Charles Woodhouse, N. G.; William 
D. Marsh, V. G.; George A. Tuttle, secretary; John Price, treasurer; Rev. W. 
W. Ford, warden ; Harry Adams, outside guardian ; C. W. Buck, inside 
guardian. Members affiliated, Thomas Briggs, George Howard, Lewis R. 
Bucklin, W. H. Lyon, John Cain, H. L. Spencer, George Wood, S. W. Bent. 
The first visitation by grand officer occurred June 24 of this year, in the per- 
son of Samuel R, Price, the first grand master. He instructed the lodge in 
secret work and delivered an address. For the second term of the year the 
officers were as follows: W. D. Marsh, N. G.; George A, Tuttle, V. G.; John 
Price, treasurer ; D. W. Fisher, secretary ; W. H. Lyon, warden ; C. W. Buck, 
guardian. On the 27th of November Brother Charles Woodhouse was granted 
a card of clearance, and on motion of Brother John Cain, a special vote of thanks 
was tendered him for his faithful services. The career of this lodge need not 
be traced in detail ; for these pages it must suffice to say that it pursued its 
course with a fair degree of prosperity until the general decline of Odd-Fel- 
lowship in 1857, when, having apparently performed its mission, it suspended 
operations. 

Otter Creek Encampment, No. 7, — This encampment was organized Feb- 
ruary 27, 1 87 1, with the following named charter members : Newman Weeks, 
L. W. Brigham, Loring Atwood, Henry R. Dyer, John H. Simmons, George 
W. Crawford, Charles Woodhouse and Henry Clark. The membership of the 
encampment is between fifty and sixty. Tho present officers are as follows : 
L. F. Miner, C. R; C. A. Peppier, S. W.; T. J. Moore, scribe ; Louis V. 
Green, treasurer ; H. H. Hibbins, H. P.; J. A. McFarland, guide ; A. M. Har- 
ris, J. W. 

Killington Lodge, No. 29, /. 0. 0. F. — This lodge was chartered August 
23, 1 87 1, the charter members being as follows : Charles Woodhouse, Newman 
Weeks, H. R. Dyer, Henry Clark, W. L. Parsons, D. B. Channell, E. Pier- 
point, B. W. Marshall, George A. Tuttle, Horace Clark, L. B. Smith, and L. 



Secret Societies. 301 



Atwood. This lodge has been a prosperous one and the present membership 
is one hundred and twenty-five. Meetings are held Monday evenings in their 
room in the Billings block, Merchant's Row. The present officers of the lodge 
are as follows: J. M. Portal, N. G.; T. C. Robbins, V. G.; E. B. Aldrich, record- 
ing secretary ; F. M. Warner, permanent secretary ; L. G. Bagley, treasurer. 

Metis Lodge, I. O. O. F., No 25. — This lodge was instituted in Poultney, 
December i, 1852. Henry Clark, W. O. Ruggles, Henry Ruggles, Geo. L. 
Hunter and Wm. Lamb were its charter members. Its first officers were W. 
O. Ruggles, N. G. ; Henry Ruggles, V. G. ; Geo. L. Hunter, secretary; Wm. 
Lamb, treasurer. The early meetings were held in the Hall of the Sons of 
Temperance in West Poultney ; but subsequently the lodge rented the Masonic 
Hall until 1871, when it was removed to its rooms. In 1859 the lodge, in 
common with many others in the State, ceased working ; but was reinstated 
in 1869. The following have been presiding officers of the lodge successively : 
W. O. Ruggles, Henry Ruggles, Henry Clark, Geo. L. Hunter, L. D. Ross, 
D. H. Odell, John K. Pixley, Andrew Clark, D. H. Odell, R. K. Morrill, 
Henry Ruggles, to 1859. Since that date, L. D. Ross, R. K. Morrill, N. C. 
Harris, Cyrus E. Horton, N. C. Hyde, M. G. Noyes, James Bullock, F. O. 
Betts. 

Pico Lodge, No. 32, /. O. O. K, (Wallingford). — This lodge was instituted 
U. D. February 7, 1871, and chartered August 23, 1871. The charter mem- 
bers were Joel Todd, Geo. W. Kinsman, E. O. Aldrich, Horace Todd 
and Bradford Aldrich. The first officers were : Geo. W. Kinsman, N. G. ; 
Joel Todd, V. G. ; E. O. Aldrich, recording secretary; Bradford B. Aldrich, 
permanent secretary ; Horace Todd, treasurer. The lodge was instituted at 
Cuttingsville and removed to East Wallingford in July, 1875. The present 
officers are as follows: E. R. Allen, P. G. ; H. P. Hawkins, N. G. ; J. I. Cong- 
don, V. G. ; F. O. Stafford, secretary; Elias Stewart, treasurer; Edward 
Armstrong, warden; M. M. Tarbell, conductor; S. F. Sherman, I. G. Meet- 
ings are held the first and third Thursdaj's in each month. There are about 
twenty-five members. 

Eureka Lodge, No 22. — This lodge was instituted in Fairhaven in June, 
185 I, constituing of ten members ; three others were initiated and three ad- 
mitted by card. The last members initiated (making in all fifty-five) was in 
December, 1885. The past grands were I. C. Allen, T. E. Wakefield, Joseph 
Adams, M. B. Dewey, I. Jones, N. Jenne, G. W. Hurlburt and H. M. Shaw. 
The benefit system led to the suspension of the lodge and an efi"ort was made 
by Grand Commissioner B. W. Dennis, in 1869, to revive the lodge, and a dis- 
pensation was obtained, but there was not sufficient interest shown to make it 
successful. 

Grand Aniiy of the Republic. —'l\\\'i ox'g-A\\u.dA\o\\\% very strong in Rut- 
land county, there being at the present time no less than six posts, all of which 
are in a healthful condition. 



302 History of Rutland County. 



Roberts Post, No 14. — This post (named in honor of the lamented Colonel 
Roberts, who fell on the battle-field), was chartered November! i, 1868. The 
charter members were J. A. Salisbury, H. W. Kingsley, E. A. Morse, E. 
J. Hartshorn, L. G. Kingsley, J. H. Dwyer, W. C. Landon, Wm. Y. W. Rip- 
ley, W. G. Veazey, E. M. Rounds, J. C. Baker, C. J. S. Randall. E. H. Ripley, 
Jno. H. Hazelton, Redfield Procter, W. C. Dunton, S. E. Burnham, J. B. Lee, 
L. B. Webster, S. G. Staley, H. Prindle, C. H. Forbes, H. C. Congdon, C. L. 
Long, A. W. White, J. A. Sheldon. The department commander at that time 
was W. G. Veazey, and the assistant adjutant-commander, J. H. Goulding. 

Tlie first meeting was held in the carpet-room of L. G. Kingsley's store, 
and the post occupied its present hall in the Morse Block in 1885. The first 
officers were as follows : Wm. Y. W. Riple}% P. C. ; W. G. Veazey, S. V. C. ; 
John A. Sheldon, J. V. C. ; C. H. Forbes, adjutant; E. A. Morse, Q. M. 

The present membership of the post is 181, and the officers as follows: L. 
G. Kingsley, P. C. ; E. H. Webster, S. V. C. ; O. P. Murdick, J. V. C. ; W. 
B. Thrall, adjt. ; Oscar Robinson, 0. M. ; C. L. Allen, surgeon ; Jno. Fayles, 
chaplain ; C. N. Chamberlain, O. D. ; I. H. Black, O. G. ; Wm. Cronan, S. M. ; 
Jas. E. Post, Q. M. S. 

SciiHott Post, No 12, of West Rutland, has the following as officers: George 
Brown, commander ; S. B. Arnold, adjutant ; C. H. Sherman, 0. M. 

Post C. J. Ormsbcc, No. 18, is in Brandon, and has the following officers: 
Isaac S. Hall, commander ; C. H. Fobes, adjutant ; O. Meacham, Q. M. 

Kearney Post, No. 48, is located in East Wallingford, with the following 
officers: J. P. Hawkins, commander; R. L. Chase, adjutant; G. R. Streeter, 
O. M. 

Joyce Post, No. 49, of Poultney, has the following officers: Samuel Dow- 
ling, commander ; M. J. Horton, adjutant; J. A. Benedict, Q. M. 

Post J. H. Boswith, No 53, is in Fairhaven. Its officers are as follows: A. 
Bonville, commander ; D. J. Edwards, adjutant ; W. A. Smith, O. M. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

HLSTORY OF TIIK TOWN OF RUTL.VND.i 

THE town of Rutland is centrally located in the county of the same name, 
and is the shire town of the county. It is bounded on the north by the 
town of Pittsford; on the east by Mendon ; on the south by Clarendon and Ira, 
and on the west by Ira. Its north line is seven and -^oT)" miles in length ; its 

is placed at the beginning of the town histories chiefly on account of 
county in comparison with the other towns. In the arrangement of 
hey will be taken up in alphabetical order. 



Town of Rutland. 303 



east line six and tois \ its south line seven and xou . sind its west line six and 
-^,ro miles. A large portion of its surface is hilly or mountainous, but along 
the valley of the Otter Creek and its tributaries are intervales of considerable 
extent especially adapted to cultivation and affording the choicest farming 
lands. The eastern part of the town is bordered by the Green Mountains, the 
western slopes of which descend to the Otter Creek valley ; and the Taconic 
Range extends north and south across the western part. The Otter Creek 
enters the town at about the middle of the south line, runs northward and 
divides the town into two nearly equal portions. Tributary to it are East 
Creek, which enters the town in the northeast corner, flows southwesterly, and 
joins Otter Creek near Rutland village ; and Tinmouth River, which flows 
northward into the town and joins Otter Creek at Center Rutland ; besides 
these there are scores of smaller streams in various parts of the town that find 
their way into Otter Creek. Castleton River, which rises in the town of Pitts- 
ford, flows south into the town near the northwest part, and at West Rutland 
bends sharply to the west, leaving the town near the middle of its western line. 
Moon Brook flows westerl)' and enters Otter Creek a little south of Rutland 
village. On all of these streams are favorable sites for manufactories where 
ample water power is developed ; this is particularly true at Sutherland Falls, 
in the extreme north part of the town, and at the falls at Center Rutland, for- 
merly well known by the name of Gookin's Falls. 

The soil of the town is varied in character. In the valleys and on the level 
portions a warm, rich loam is found, which gradually takes on a lighter and 
more sandy character as the uplands are reached, finally becoming rocky and 
barren on the mountains. 

The town lies in latitude 43° ^j' and longitude 4° and 4' east from Wash- 
ington, and contains about 26,000 acres of land. Its geological] features have 
already been described in another chapter, while its inexhaustible and valuable 
marble deposits will be properly treated a little farther on. In natural pic- 
turesqueness and beauty of situation, the town can scarcely be surpassed. Ly- 
ing at the foot of the loftiest peaks of the Green Mountains, the towering sum- 
mits of Killington, Pico and Shrewsbury look down upon the valley of the 
Otter ; the beautiful and thriving village of Rutland and its surroundings rest 
almost in their shadows and are apparently surrounded by an amphitheatre of 
hills or mountains ; but there are winding valleys that break away among the 
ranges, giving access to highways and railroads from various directions. Over 
these pass the immense resources of the town and vicinity, bringing wealth and 
general prosperity to her energetic people. 

Charter, Grantees, ete. — The town of Rutland was chartered to the original 
grantees over twenty years before America became a free country. Her part 
in the struggle which led up to that grand consummation has been pictured in 
earlier chapters ; but long anterior to that event the town was probably a sort 



304 History of Rutland County. 



of center of Indian travel and traffic, and its soil was trod by a white man, who 
can be identified fifty years before the end of the Revolutionary War. Otter 
Creek was a highway from north to south, and Castleton and Cold Rivers from 
east to west across this territory, the convenience of which was appreciated by 
Indian traders, whose goods passed from Fort Dummer, in Massachusetts, to 
Lake Champlain. Goods were purchased in Massachusetts cheaper than they 
could be bought in Canada, and Rutland lay in the direct line of travel. As 
early as 1730 James Cross, ^ with twelve Caughnawaga Indians, left Fort Dum- 
mer, and in seven days reached Rutland, via Black River, Plymouth Ponds and 
Cold River. They reached Otter Creek on Sunday evening. May 3, 1730. 
Other white men may have set foot on this soil at an earlier date ; but no per- 
son can make such positive statement. On Monday the party manufactured 
canoes, and Wednesday rowed thirty-five miles down Otter Creek. A poetic 
imagination may picture the beauty of the scene which greeted their gaze at 
every bend of the stream as they drifted through the unknown wilderness. 
Cross left a brief journal, in which is mentioned the two falls, Sutherland and 
Gookin's, in this town; and he wrote of the creek as being black and deep, and 
spoke of the soil in flattering terms. 

Eighteen years later, when the Massachusetts trade with the Indians had 
been crushed by the French and Indian Wars, a party of sixty scouts came 
from Black River, and forty of the number passed down on the east side of 
Otter Creek, while the remaining twenty went north on the west side ; the lat- 
ter thus exposed themselves to the enemy at Crown Point, were driven back 
up the creek and down West River, onl}' to be taken oft' their guard and terri- 
bly defeated in Windham county.- 

The year 1759 saw the opening of a passage way across this county which 
has passed into history under the name of the Old Military Road. It extended 
from what is now Charlestown, N. H., to Crown Point, and its route was sub- 
stantially from Charlestown through to Nott's Ferry, Springfield ; on through 
Wethersfield, reaching Charles Button's tavern on Mill River in Clarendon ; 
thence si.x miles to Colonel James Mead's tavern at Center Rutland ; crossed 
the Otter Creek, and continued northward six miles to Waters's tavern in Pitts- 
ford ; thence through " Brown's Camp " in Neshobe (Brandon) twenty miles to 
Moore's tavern in Shoreham, and thence to Crown Point. This old road, and 
the one cut out in 1776 from Mount Independence, in Orwell, to Hubbardton, 
and thence to Center Rutland, were thoroughfares of great importance in the 
War of the Revolution. Over the first one mentioned Rogers and his brave 
band passed to Crown Point, after their terrible experiences in destroying the 
Indian village of St. Francis, and its track was also trodden by ancestors of 
many Rutland county families while the State was yet a wilderness. At the 

1 This n.ime is given by different writers as " Coss," "Cass," and "Cross." 

2 .\adress of Henrv Hall at the centennial celebration in Rutland in 1S70. 




ou 



u 



to 




Town of Rutland. 305 



time of the opening of tlie second road spoken of (1776), a bridge was built 
over Otter Creek at Center Rutland, giving that point still greater importance. 

There were two forts erected in this town for the protection of the settlers 
during the troublous times of the Revolution. One of these, built about the 
time of the commencement of the war, stood on wliat is now the " burnt dis- 
trict," in Rutland village. The meagre details of its character that are known 
give it a length from north to south of ten rods and a width of eight rods, its 
south side being nearly on a line with the north side of the Daniels store. It 
was, like all of the Vermont forts of that day, made of pickets, generally of 
maple, sunk about five feet in the ground and fourteen feet high above ground, 
the sides of the pickets where they came together being hewn straight. At 
each corner was a redoubt, or " flanker," about eight feet square. At a con- 
venient height for effective shooting were port-holes, that were pierced at dis- 
tances of about six feet apart ; these lioles radiated inward and outward, being 
just large enough at the centers to admit a musket, and extended around the 
fort. On the west side was the gate. Inside was a small building for provi- 
sions and ammunition, which was afterward used as a dwelling. In the south 
part of the inclosure was a well, over which in later years a large flat stone 
was placed and earth thrown on top. According to the Vermont Historical 
Magazine, as other forts to the north and south were erected, this one soon be- 
came of little consequence, and the pickets were gradually carried oft" for fuel. 

Another fort was built at Gookin's Falls (Center Rutland) soon after the 
organization of the government of Vermont in March, 1778, when it was de- 
cided to make Rutland the headquarters of the State troops ; Captain Gideon 
Brownson was made commander of the force stationed at this point. It was 
situated on the hill east of the falls. Its construction was substantially the 
same as the one above described, except that the pickets were hemlock and 
a little higher above the ground ; and inside of the outer row was driven an- 
other, alternating in position with those of the outermost ones, thus rendering 
it bullet proof It was elliptical or oval in form and had port holes like 
those already described ; it inclosed two acres, or a little more. On the east 
and west sides there were large plank gates for the admission of teams, and 
on the south side a small gate through which water was carried from Otter 
Creek. In the northwest part of the inclosure was a block-house of hewn 
logs, thirty or forty feet square, two stories high, roofed and shingled ; in the 
lower story were port holes and others through the caves of the roof, which 
projected two feet, thus raking all the grounds surrounding the house. The 
north and west sides of this building formed a part of the wall of the fort, 
and the door was on the east side of the house. In the northeast and south- 
west corners were sentry boxes, elevated on poles so as to overlook the ap- 
proaches to the fort; they were boarded upas high as a man's chin, covered at 
the top to protect from snow and rain, and a ladder ascended to the little door 



3o6 History of Rutland County. 

of each. Near the northwest corner of the inclosure was a guard-house of 
rough boards, roofed and floored, in which the sentry slept during rehef from 
the two hours' watches. Along the north side were the officers' barracks, the 
roofs of which sloped against the outer pickets. The soldiers' barracks ex- 
tended along the south side, while the intervening space was used as a parade 
ground. The fort was supplied with a nine pound cannon, and it is related 
that one of the soldiers once remarked to a visitor that as the)' had then a 
stock of twelve cannon cartridges, the fort could stand a pretty heavy siege ! 
The ground to the south and east of the fort was originally covered with scrub 
oaks, but these were cleared away south to the creek and east a distance of 
fifteen or twenty rods, so as to guard against stealthy attack. This fort was 
called Fort Ranger, as will be seen in subsequent pages of the town records; 
some of the town meetings were held here and it was the headquarters of the 
State troops until 1781, when the presence of the British in large force on 
Lake Champlain caused the removal of headquarters to Castleton. This fort, 
Mead's saw-mill and grist-mill, John H. Johnson's tavern, and the meeting- 
house, made that point an important rendezvous for the town ; it promised in 
that early day to become the center of business and traffic. In spite of the 
frequent alarms and rumors of Indian incursions during the Revolutionary War, 
and the fact that other towns to the northward did actually become the scene 
of warfare. Fort Ranger was never attacked by the enemy, and the only dan- 
ger its inmates incurred was from straj' shots of Indians or Tories aimed at the 
sentries in the darkness of night. On the 27th of March, 1781, the town 
meeting was convened in the meeting-house, according to notice ; thence it 
adjourned to the tavern of John Hopson Johnson, and thence, as the records 
inform us, " for necessary reasons" it adjourned to the " store-house in Fort 
Rainger." ^ 

In 1779 this fort was in command of Captain Thomas Sawyer, and on the 
14th of May he received the following orders: — 

" The design and object of a garrison being kept at }-our post is to prevent 
the incursion of the enemy on the northern frontier and to annoy them should 
they come within your reach ; as there are two other Forts, one at Castleton, 
and the other at Pittsford, dependent upon yours, you are to take care that 
they are properly manned and provided proportionable to your strength at 
Fort Ranger. You will keep out constant scouts toward the lake, so as to get 
the earliest intelligence of the motion and designs of the enemy. You will 
keep the command of Fort Ranger and other forts depending until otherwise 
ordered by me or until some Continental Officers shall take the command. 
You will post the earliest intelligence of the enemy to me and guard against 
surprise. Given under my hand 

" Thos. Chittenden, Capt. Gen." 

iThe description of these forts is condensed from the account in the I'ermoiil Historiial Magazine. 



Town of Rutland. 307 



The charter of Rutland was one of the sixty issued by New Hampshire 
in 1 76 1. New York had set up her claim to the territory of the State in 
1750, an unjustifiable measure which led to the historic controversy which has 
been described in earlier pages of this work. The charter of Rutland was 
dated September 7, 1761, three years before the French and Indian war was 
wholly ended. Governor Benning Wentworth, of New Hampshire, from 
whom the charters of towns in Rutland county emanated, did not forget his 
personal interests and reserved for himself five hundred acres of land in the town- 
ship ; but the grantees had little of which to complain, as they obtained their 
lands substantially free; or, as they themselves claimed, "as a reward for their 
great losses and services on the frontier, during the late war." The charter 
was procured by Colonel Josiah Willard, of Winchester, N. H., and the first 
named grantee was John Murray, an Irishman. The latter was a prominent 
citizen of Rutland, Mass., and it is thought gave the same name to this 
town. Most of the grantees lived in New Hampshire and none of them ever 
settled permanently in Rutland. Following are the names of the original 
grantees of the town, as they appear in the records : Ephraim Adams, John 
Armes, Eliakim Armes, Elijah Amies, John Armes (probably John 2d), 
Thomas Bardwell, Thomas Blanchard, Joseph Cass, Oliver Colburn, John 
Dandly, Thomas Davis, Jonathan Furneld, Nathaniel Foster, Joseph Hannum, 
George Hart, Asa Hawks, John Hinsdale, Nehemiah Houghton, Caleb John- 
son, Elijah Mitchell, Benjamin Melvin, Reubin Nimbs, Enos Stevens, William 
Smeed, Abraham Scott, Samuel Stevens, jr., Wing Spooner, Zedekiah Stone, 
Nathan Stone, Joel Stone, Samuel Stone, jr., Abner Stone, Samuel Stone, 
Josiah Willard, jr., William Willard, and Governor Benning Wentworth (500 
acres). 

A second grant was made in the same year, covering the territory of Rut- 
land, under the name of "Fairfield," the grantor being Colonel John Henry 
L\-dius, then of Albany. His claim was founded on a deed from the Mohawk 
chiefs, confirmed by Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts. ^ He commenced 
surveying and preparing to dispose of his easily acquired territory, while other 
speculators also began to turn their attention to this locality. In the mean 
time John Murray sold his right in Rutland, containing about three hundred 
and fifty acres, for two shillings — at the rate of about ten acres for one cent ! 
Other sales were also made; speculators, those vampires that caused the pio- 
neers more trouble than their descendants can appreciate, were active ; the woods 
began to resound with the echoes of the axe, and the era of settlement began. 

Early Settlements. — James Mead was the first white man to permanently 
settle in the town of Rutland. He removed from " Nine Partners," to Man- 

1 Soon after the grant to Lyciius he procured the survey of Otter Creek, sending Asa Peabody from 
Connecticut to do the work. Henry Hall, of Rutland, says he has seen the original record of that 
survey written on a half sheet of foolscap, with all the minute details. The measurement of the fall at 
Center Rutland made it twenty-five feet, and Sutherland Fall, one hundred and fifty feet. 



3o8 History of Rutland County. 

Chester, Vt., accompanied by several other men and their families. Mead was 
probably something of a leader among them, and while acting as their agent 
he became acquainted with this town. On the 30th day of September, 1769, 
he made his first purchase here, which embraced twenty " rights "; ten of these 
he sold on the same day. As there were about three hundred and fifty acres 
in a right, he retained about 3,500 acres. His purchase was made of Nathan 
Stone, of Windsor, and his sale of one-half was made to Charles Button, of 
Clarendon. The price is stated in the deeds of purchase as one hundred 
pounds, and the price of half to Button as forty pounds ; which transaction 
would have been a losing one for Mead. The deeds describe Mead as of Man- 
chester, in the county of Albany, New York. The twenty rights of Mead and 
Button were located in the southwest part of the town. In the same fall Mr. 
Mead built a log house which stood on or near the site of the present residence 
of Chapin Wilco.x, about half a mile west of Center Rutland, near the banks of 
the West Creek. Here was an ancient beaver meadow, which saved the pio- 
neer the necessity of making a place for his dwelling in an unbroken forest. 

In March, 1770, when Colonel Mead was forty years old and had a wife 
and ten children, the eldest of whom was Sarah, wife of Wright Roberts, the 
family, including the son-in-law, thirteen in all, came into the town to take up 
their permanent abode. Three days were occupied in the removal from Man- 
chester, stopping the first night in Dorset and the second in Danby, and pass- 
ing through Tinmouth and West Clarendon. In Chippenhook, in the town of 
Clarendon, while Sarah and Mercy were riding on a horse and Roberts was 
driving the cows, the three being in rear of the others, they lost their way ; 
but they were put upon the right track after wandering about for some time, 
by Simeon Jenny, whose dwelling they had reached. He was a noted Tory 
and "Yorker," but his counsel was, doubtless, none the less welcome at that 
time. Late in the evening of the third day the little party reached their log 
house ; but it had no roof and the cold and snows of the early spring made it 
entirely untenable. Not far distant were camped a party of Caughnawaga 
Indians, their wigwam and its glowing fire looking very tempting to the way- 
worn travelers. Mead applied to them to share their rude quarters. After a 
brief consultation in their own tongue, the)' arose, threw their hands apart and 
cried " welcome;" they then gathered up their traps, gave up their hut to the 
family and quickly constructed another for themselves. There the Mead fam- 
ily lived until late in the succeeding autumn, when they built a substantial log 
house, in which they wintered. 

It behooves us to add a little further record of this man who first took up 
his residence in this, the most important town in the most important county of 
Vermont. He was born at Horseneck, N. Y., August 25, 1730, and died Jan- 
uary 19, 1804. He was a member of the Dorset Convention of September 25, 
1776, and one of the committee appointed by the W'indsor Convention in June, 



Town of Rutland. 309 



1777, to arrange with the commander of Ticonderoga for the frontier defense. 
He was also colonel of the Third Regiment of militia. His wife was Mercy 
Holmes, who was born at the same place April 7, 1731. Their children were 
Sarah, born in 1753. James, 2d, born 1754; drowned in the flume at Center 
Rutland in 1773. Abner, ist, born 1756; lived on the farm at West Rutland 
now occupied by A. J. Mead, his grandson; and died there in 1S13, at the age 
of fifty-seven years. Samantha, born in 1757 ; married Keeler Hines, and for 
her second husband a Mr. Coggswell ; she died in 18 14. Stephen, born in 
1759. Mercy, born in 1761 ; married John Smith, 2d, and lived about one 
and one-half miles south of West Rutland on the farm now occupied by John 
Brewster ; one of their daughters is the widow of Harvey Chapman, now liv- 
ing in Clarendon. Dorcas, born in 1763. Hannah, born in 1764; married 
Silas Smith, and for her second husband, Darius Chipman ; died in 1 82 I. Dim- 
eas, born in 1766 ; married Dr. James Reed and lived a little west of Colonel 
James Mead's. Tameson, born in 1768. William, born September 24, 1 770. 
James, 2d, born in 1773 (the year in which his brother James was drowned), 
died in 1813 in a western State. 

Zebulon Mead, a brother of the pioneer, came into the town from Nine 
Partners in 1774 and purchased land including farms now owned by Rollin and 
Horatio Mead. Zebulon Mead's son Henry was then thirteen years old. He 
remained in the town until his death ; married Mary Munson and had ten 
children, seven of whom were sons. Horatio Mead, now living north of Rut- 
land village, is the youngest of the sons except one. Joel M. Mead, one of 
Horatio's brothers, passed his life on the farm north of Horatio's, now occupied 
by Rollin Mead, who is a son of Joel. Horatio Mead is now eighty years old; 
has but one son, Stephen, at present one of the selectmen of Rutland. Joel 
Mead's widow still lives at eighty-five years of age. He died in 1880. 

We cannot follow all of the many descendants of these pioneers except in 
the briefest manner. Abner, ist, had as children, Ira, born in 1779. Eliza- 
beth, born 1781 ; married Israel Harris, 2d. Truman, born 1783; was a 
farmer at Center Rutland. Abner, 2d, born 1785. Laura, born 1787; mar- 
ried Solomon Cook. Abial, born 1789; was a physician and practiced in 
Esse.x for many years. Philena, born 1791 ; married Charles Huntington and 
died 1 8 17. Peter Philander, b<M-n 1793. The mother of these children was 
Amelia, daughter of the Rev. Benajah Roots, and died June 17, 1800. 

The children of Abner Mead, 2d, were Harriet, born 1808, married Jede- 
diah Parmalee, a preacher ; for her second husband she married Henry W. 
Porter, son of Dr. James Porter, and died in Rutland, Charity, born 18 10, 
married Benjamin Franklin Blanchard, a farmer of West Rutland ; he is dead 
and his widow lives on the homestead. A. J. Mead, born 18 15, lives on the 
old homestead at West Rutland. Roswell R., born 18 I 8, was a merchant at 
West Rutland, where he died ; his children are John A., lives in Rutland, where 



3IO History of Rutland County. 

he is a successful physician ; Mary L., wife of Professor Metzke, of Rutland ; 
and R. R. Mead, chief of the Rutland police. The other child of Abner, 2d, 
was John W. H., born 1 820, and died in 1840 while attending Middlebury 
College. The mother of these children was Nancy Rowley, daughter of Ros- 
well Rowley, who lived where Cyrus Johnson now resides, between Center 
Rutland and Sutherland Falls. Abner died in 1859. The other descendants 
need not be traced into the present generation ; they have been given thus far 
in detail, being entitled to whatever of honor attaches to descendants of the 
first settlers in any important community. 

During the year 1770 three other families are known to have settled in the 
town, possibly one or two others. These were Simeon Powers, whose son 
William was the first white child born in the town ; the event occurred on the 
23d of September, 1770. On the following day William Mead, son of James, 
was born. On the 3d day of October, of the same year, Chloe Johnson, daugh- 
ter of Asa Johnson, was born, these first three births in the town thus occur- 
ring within ten days. Simeon Powers settled in the spring of 1770, on the west 
side of Otter Creek, on what has been lately known as the Kelley farm. In the 
succeeding fall William Dwinell came in with his wife and took up his tempo- 
rary residence with Mr. Powers, who was his relative. These four families are 
all who are positively known to have settled before 1771 ; but during 1770 and 
as early as May, Thomas Rowley had begun surveying lots in the town and 
mentioned a clearing made by a Mr. Brockway. 

On the 3d of April, 1771, Governor Dunmore of New York, issued to a 
number of petitioners a charter for a new town under the name of " Social- 
borough," embracing the towns of Rutland, Pittsford and a part of Brandon. 
This action was in direct antagonism to the order of the king, of July, 1767, 
and entirely without authorit}', a fact undoubtedly known to the petitioners. 

Following is the text of a petition relative to making this great town the 
county seat : — 

" To His Excellency Wm. Tryon, Captain General and Governor in Chief in 
and over the Province of New York and the Territories depending thereon 
in America, Chancellor and Vice Chancllor of the same. 

" The petition of the subscribers who are interested in the townships of So- 
cialborough, Halesborough, Neury, Richmond, Kelso, Moncton, and Durham 
in the county of Charlotte, 

" Most Humbly sheweth 

"That your petitioners being informed that the appointment of the town- 
ship or place for holding the courts in the County of Charlotte will soon come 
under your excellency's consideration, they beg leave most humbly to suggest 

"That the township of Socialborough is nearly central to that part of the 
country which will probably remain a separate county when the northern part 
of this province becomes populous, to-wit, from the Battenkill to an east line 



Town of Rutland. 



from the mouth of Otter Creek, comprising a district about seventy-five miles 
in lengtli. That the roads leading North from the Massachusetts Bay and 
westward from New Hampshire both pass through the said township, which 
your petitioners conceive a strong proof of its being easy of access. 

" That the township and the lands in its immediate neighborhood are re- 
markably fertile and pleasantly situated on a fine river called Otter Creek which 
for many miles is navigable for bateaux and would be throughout but for the 
obstruction of the falls. 

"That from the best information your petitioners are able to collect, 
though the settlement began within three years, there are already thirty- five 
families in Socialborough, and twenty more have made improvements and are 
expected to remove thither the ensuing spring — the chief of whom have 
agreed to take titles for their farms under this government. 

" That in the three townships of Durham, Grafton and Chesterfield, which 
adjoined each other and extended from Socialborough southward there are 
ninety-six families actually settled who hold all their estates under this gov- 
ernment. 

"That in Chatham, which is the next town adjoining Chesterfield towards 
the south there are settled fifteen families, and in Eugene which adjoins it on 
the west, forty. In Princeton, which adjoins Chatham on the south, seventy 
families, and in West Cambden which adjoins it on the west twelve families. 

" That these making in the whole near two hundred heads of families, 
chiefly live at a convenient distance from Socialborough and the most remote 
of them not exceeding forty miles, and have already the advantage of a toler- 
able road, through which loaded carts have passed from Socialborough to Al- 
bany the last summer. 

" That Col. Reid's settlement which is further North, and which consists 
of about fifteen families is at no greater distance from Socialborough than thirty 
miles and Major Skene's within twenty miles. 

"That from these circumstances your petitioners hope it will appear that 
this township is well situated for the county town and not only convenient to 
the greater part of the present inhabitants, but will continue to be so to the 
county in general (as far as to the said east line from the mouth of the Otter 
Creek) when it becomes populous and fully improved. 

" That the present inhabitants of the said country are very poor and unable 
but by their labor to contribute anything toward a Court House and Gaol nor 
is any provision made for that purpose by law. 

" Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that unless your Excellency shall 
judge some other place to be more proper the county town of the said county 
may be fixed at Socialborough in which case your petitioners are willing and 
do engage to raise and pay all the money which shall be necessary for erecting 
a convenient Court House and gaol for said County. 

" And your petitioners shall ever pray, &c. 



312 History of Rutland County. 

" Charles Nevers, William Shirreff, William Walton, Hamilton Young, 
Ricli'd Mailland, Atty, Jacob Walton, Theophilact Bache, W. McAdam, Jno. 
Harris Cruger, Henry Van Veck, G. Mazzuzin, Gerard Walton, Wm. Lupton, 
Stephen Kemble, John De Lancy, Theod's Van Wyck, James Thyn, Fred 
De Puyster, for self and Dr. Jno. Jones, Isaac Roosvelt, Adam Gilchrist, 
Jacobus Van Zandt, Sam'l Deall, Fred'k V. Cortlandt, Wm. Cockburn, Garrett 
Rapalje. By order." 

It will be observed that among these names are many of those belonging 
to the old and thrifty Dutch families of New York State. Jacob Walton was 
member of the Colonial Assembly of New York in 1769 and William was secre- 
tary to the superintendent of police in New York city. William McAdam was 
a New York merchant. Samuel Deall was the owner of a tract of land in the 
southern part of Essex county, N. Y., and one of the first settlers there. 

The chief value of this petition is its account of the first settlements in this 
part of Vermont. It is thought to have been presented as early as 1769. 

The charter covered about 4,800 acres, the nominal grantees being forty- 
eight in number ; but within a few days after the patent was issued the lands 
were conveyed to a party of New York speculators, who subsequently became 
the chief instigators and promoters of the efforts to eject the New Hampshire 
claimants. But the settlers of the territory designated as " Socialborough " 
did not purpose to sit down and tamely submit to injustice ; hence the sur- 
veyor sent on by the land pirates (Will Cockburn) found his field of labor a 
decidedly unpleasant one, as the following extracts from one of his letters will 
indicate : — 

" Alb.a.i\v, September 10, 1771. 

" Sir : — Your favor of the i6th of August, and the $60 2s. gd. of Mr. 
Robert Yates, I received on my return here, after being the second time stopped 
in Socialborough, by James Mead and Asa Johnson in behalf of the settlers in 
Rutland and Pittsford. I have run out lots from the south bounds to within 
about two miles of the Great Falls. I found it in vain to persist any longer, 
as they were resolved at all events to stop us. There have been many threats 
pronounced against me. Gideon Cooley, who lives by the Great Falls [Suther- 
land Falls], was to shoot me, and your acquaintance, Nathan 

Allen, was in the woods with another party blacked and dressed like Indians, 
as I was informed. Several of my men can prove Tounsend and Train threat- 
ened my life, that I should never return home, etc 

"The people of Durham [now Clarendon] assured me, these men intended 
to murder us if we did not go thence, and advised mc b}- all means to desist 
surveying I found I would not be allowed to go north- 
ward, as they suspected I would begin again, and therefore intended to convey 
us to Danby and so on to the southward, and by all accounts we should not 
have been very kindly treated. I was advised b\' no means to go that road. 
On my assuring them I would survey no more in those parts, 



Town of Rutland. 313 



we were permitted to proceed along the Crown Point road, with the hearty 
prayers of the women, as we passed, never to return 

" I have not been able to fix Kier's location and Danby people have been 
continually on the watch always Since I have been here, sev- 
eral have visited me, asking questions, no doubt to be able to know us, should 
we venture within their territories, and at the same time warning us of the dan- 
ger, should we be found there. 

" Marsh's survey is likewise undone, as I did not care to venture myself 
that way. I shall be able to inform you more particularly at our meeting, and 
am Sir, your most obedient servant, 

" Will Cockburn. 

"James Duane, New York." 

This shows one feature of the monstrous controversy for the territory in- 
cluded in the State of Vermont — a controversy ended only by her final pay- 
ment of tribute money for admission to the Union in 1791, as heretofore fully 
set forth, Cockburn surveyed what is now Main street in the village of Rut- 
land, among other lines ; but he pursued his labor under difficulties. Mead and 
Johnson ordered him to cease his work, and others dressed as Indians threat- 
ened him with their vengeance, until he was fain to leave their vicinity. (See 
subsequent history of Clarendon.) 

Settlement progressed. Mead maintained a primitive ferry across Otter 
Creek, until the bridge was built, by keeping a boat on each side of the stream, 
which must have been a great convenience to the pioneers. By the end of 
the year 1773 thirt)'-five families had located in the town, as clearly shown in 
a deposition made by Charles Button, in that year. This deposition so vividly 
indicates the spirit that animated the settlers in the contest with New York and 
their manner of dealing with settlers under grants from the New York govern- 
ment, that it merits a place here : — 

"Count}' of Cumberland ss. — Charles Button of a place called Durham on 
the bank of Otter Creek on the west side of the Green Mountains, in the 
county of Charlotte and province of New York, of full age duly sworn on the 
holy evangelists of Almighty God deposeth and saith, that the deponent with 
others to the number of thirty-five families, seated themselves upon the said 
tract, and hold a title derived from the province of New York, that the depo- 
nent has lived with family upon the same tract since the eighth day of Febru- 
ary 1768, has cleared and improved a large farm, built a good dwelling-house 
with other out houses, and was lately offered a thousand pounds current money 
of New York for his improvements. That about eleven o'clock at night on 
Saturday the 20th instant, as the deponent is informed and verily believes. Re- 
member Baker, Ethan Allen, Robert Cochrane, and a number of other per- 
sons, armed with guns, cutlasses &c., came to the house of Benjamin Spencer 
esq,, of said Durham, who holds his farm under a title derived from the gov- 
ernment of New York and brake open the said house, and took the said Spen- 



314 History of Rutland County. 

cer and carried him about two miles to the house of Thomas Green, of Kelso, 
and there kept him in custody until Monday morning. The heads of the said 
rioters then asked the said Spencer, whether he would choose to be tried at the 
house of Joseph Smith in said Durham, or at his the said Spencer's own door? 
To which Spencer replied, that he was guilty of no crime, but if he must be 
tried, he would choose to liave his trial at his own door: The rioters thereupon 
carried the said Spencer to his own door and proceeded to his trial before Seth 
Warner of Bennington : the said Remember Baker, Ethan Allen and Robert 
Cochrane who sat as judges. That said rioters charge the said Spencer with 
being a great friend to the government of New York, and had acted as a mag- 
istrate of the county of Charlotte, of which respective charges his said judges 
found him guilty and passed sentence that his the said Spencer's house should 
be burned to the ground, and that he should declare that he would not for the 
future act as a justice of the peace for the said county of Charlotte. Spencer 
thereupon urged that his wife and children would be ruined, and his store of dry 
goods and all his property wholly destroyed if his house was burned. Warner 
then declared Spencer's house should not be wholly destroyed, that only the 
roof should be taken off and put on again, provided Spencer would declare, that 
it was put on under the New Hampshire title and purchase a right under the 
charter from the last mentioned government. These several conditions Spencer 
was obliged to comply with, upon which the rioters dismissed him. 

" That a party of the said rioters came to the deponent's house on the 
night of Saturday, the 20th instant, as the deponent is informed, and broke 
open the doors and sacked the house for the deponent, which they did not find 
as he was gone to Crown Point, to take Stephen Weakly upon writs issued 
against him at the suit of Samuel Green and one Sprague. That upon the 
deponent's return home with the said Weakl)' in custody, another party of the 
said rioters took the deponent, obliged him to discharge the said Weakly, and 
one Smith and others of the said rioters the next day declared they would pull 
down Green's house and give him the beach seal. (Meaning that they would 
flog him unless he consented thereto) which he accordiitgly did. 

" They then obliged this deponent to give the said Weakly si.x shillings 
current money of New York, for taking him the said Weakly into custody, 
and declaring for the debts due from him, the said Weakly to the said Green 
and Sprague as aforesaid, and afterwards made this deponent promise that he 
would never serve as an officer of justice or constable to execute any precept 
under the province of New York, and then gave him a certificate in the words 
and figures following to wit: — 

" ' PiTTSFORD, Nov. 24, 1773. 

" ' These are to satisfy all the Green Mountain Boys that Charles Button 
had his trial at Stephen Mead's, and this is his discharge from us. 

" ' Peleg Sunderling, 
" 'Benj. Cooley.' 



ToWiN OF Rutland. 315 



Which certificate they declared would be a sufficient permit or pass among the 
New Hampshire claimants, Green Mountain Boys and further the deponent 
saith not. 

" 1773, Charles Button." 

(See also history of the town of Clarendon). 

Button came from Connecticut, and lived on Mill River in Clarendon. The 
Benjamin Spencer mentioned was one of the earliest settlers in that town ; un- 
der date of April, 1772, he wrote from Durham to James Duane, among other 
letters relative to the prevailing troubles, as follows : — 

"Sir: The people of Socialborough decline buying their lands, saving four 
or five, and sa)' they will defend it by force — the people that settled under 
Lydius' title, and those that have come in this spring, have agreed for their 
lands. The New Hamp.shire people strictly forbid any further survey being 
made of Socialborough, or any settlements being made only under the New 
Hampshire title ; which riotous spirit have prevented many inhabitants settling 
this spring. You may ask why I do not proceed against them in a due course 
of law — but you need not wonder, when I tell you that it hath got to that, the 
people go armed, and guards yet in the road to examine people what their 
business is and where they are going, and if the)' do not give a particular 
account, thej' are beaten in a shameful manner ; and it is got to that, they say 
they will not be brought to justice by this province, and bid defiance to any 
authority in the province. We are threatened at distance of being turned off 
our lands or our crops being destroyed. I have this opportunity of writing by 
way of IMajor Skeene, and have not the opportunity of informing you of the 
number of lots, and men's names that you may draw the deeds, but will send 
them the first opportunity, as it will take some time to view the lots and give 
a particular account; I hope the survey of our patent may not be stopped on 
account of this tumult, as we shall labor under a great disadvantage if our lands 
are not divided this spring. I look upon it to be dangerous for Mr. Cockburn 
to come into the country until these people can be subdued, he may come 
here by way of Maj. Skeene, but he cannot do any work only what he doth 
for us; if he attempts any further, I am afraid of the consequences, but if he 
does not care to come, I desire that some person may be employed hereabout 
that we may know where our land is, which I should be glad you would in- 
form me of, as soon as possible. One Ethan Allen hath brought from Con- 
necticut, twelve or fifteen of the most blackguard fellows he can get, double 
armed in order to protect him, and if some method is not taken to subdue the 
towns of Bennington, Shaftsbury, Arlington, Manchester and those people in 
Socialborough, and others scattering about the woods, there had as good be an 
end of government. I am with all due regard 

" Your humble servant, 

" Benjamin Spencer." 



3i6 History of Rutland County. 

The above two documents allude to what were but mere examples of scores 
of similar occurrences for the protection of the rights and homes of the settlers 
of Vermont, as the reader of this work has learned. But nothing has ever been 
powerful enough to stay the progress of settlement in America, and the pio- 
neers came into Rutland with a steadily growing influx that was only partially 
retarded by the Revolutionary War. 

Among the thirty- five families which had settled in the town prior to 1774, 
were those of John Smith and Joseph Bowker, both of whom were men of 
prominence. Joseph Bowker and his wife, Sarah, were among the organizing 
members of the first Congregational Church formed here in October, 1773, and 
his name appears frequently in the early town records. It is believed that he 
came from Sudbury, Mass., but the exact date of his arrival in this town is lost. 
He then enjoyed the title of" Captain " and was elected moderator of the first 
meeting of proprietors of Rutland of which there is an existing record — the 
second Tuesday in October, 1773. The first vote at this meeting was "that 
Capt. Boker be a Comt'ee man with the old comtee to find the sentor of the 
town." This meeting was " held to the Meeting House in said Rutland." 
Joseph Bowker soon became a general office-holder for the town, county and 
State ; one of the Committee of Safety, town, treasurer (1784), selectman, town 
representative, member of the governor's council, etc., and finally judge of pro- 
bate and the County Court, and chief judge of Special Court, appointed by the 
first Legislature. About 1780 Mr. Bowker, John Smith, Henrj^ Strong and 
James Claghorn built a saw- mill on Moon's Brook, about eighty rods from the 
north and south road at Rutland. Indeed, during the whole of the period of 
his life in this town Mr. Bowker seems to have been a man of great activ- 
ity, conspicuous in the public service as connected with the war, and promi- 
nent in all things. From a paper read by Henry Hall before the Vermont 
Historical Society in 1863, we take the following extract, showing the nature 
of some of Mr. Bowker's services for the State, and the pay received there- 
for:— 

" State of Vermont, to Joseph Bowker, Dr. 

Nov. 1777, to attending vendue one day 6s. 

July, 1778, to attending vendue one da\' 4s. 

To writing three leases, 3s. 

To one day in leasing Rockwell's lot, 2s. 

To cash paid Gideon Cooley for boarding and transport- 
ing the families of Perry and Shorey to the lake,. - . .£2 6s. 

Sept., 1778, to cash paid Daniel Washburn for boarding 
the family of Robert Perry five weeks £2 

To journey of myself and horse to Tinmouth and attend- 
ing the trial of John McNeal 9s. 

Jan., 1780, to journey to Manchester of myself and horse, 

38 miles 13s. 4d. 



Town of Rutland. 317 



To eight days service drawing a lottery , £2 9s. 

To two dollars paid to Widow Weller, for house room 

and firewood, 12s. 

To six bushels Indian corn for use of State, iSs. 

To journey to Sunderland to attend the council, 42 miles, I 3s. 

To one day's services, 7s. 

To one day of myself and horse to Castleton 9s. 

To one day weighing bread and forwarding pro\'isions, 4s. 

To one day of man and horse to transport provisions to 

Pittsford 9s. 

To cash paid Nathan Pratt for transporting Tor\- women 

to the lake £2 2s. 2d. 

April, 1780, to paper to Capt. Parmlee Allen, ^5 3s. 2d." 

On the 20th of October, 1779, Mr. Bowker received from the State treas- 
urer _^S 8s, "for examining accounts of a committee to build a fort at Pitts- 
ford," and on the 22d of February, 1781,6s., "for examining a muster roll." 
The following item in his account throws some light on the dealings of loyal 
settlers with the Tories : — 

"Clarendon, Jan. 21, 1778. 
" Received of Joseph Smith, commissioner of Sequestration, four pounds 
one shilling and five pence, L. M., for my time settling with the committee to 
try Tories. JOSEPH BoWKER." 

Bowker's charges for his services seem insignificant at the present day ; but 
money was a scarce article during that period ; State orders and individual 
paper constituted a large part of the circulating currency. Bowker made his 
purchase of one hundred and fifty acres in Rutland in 1774, which appears to 
have been his only real estate operation ; this fact may account for his exemp- 
tion from outlawry on the part of the New York government, to which many 
of his neighbors were subjected. His farm, according to Mr. Hall, was situated 
on the east side of Main street, extended one hundred rods south from about 
Green street, to and including part of Handpole or Moon's Brook; half a mile 
east of the road he located his dvi'elling, fronting the south and about halfway 
down the pleasant slope. He died in the summer of 1784 and is supposed to 
have been buried in the old ground at Center Rutland, then the only burial 
place in the town ; but no stone marks the place of his rest. 

John Smith came from Salisbury, Conn., in 1774 and settled on the farm 
now owned by F. B. and J. Q. Smith ; in the year 1780 we find that Samuel 
Smith sold to John Smith, his son, for sixty-four pounds 1,020 acres, "in the 
township of Rutland, on Otter Creek, in the province of New York." The names 
of Thomas Blanchard, John Dandl}' and Oliver Colburn are mentioned in the 
deed as the original proprietors of the tract. In 1774, according to the records, 
John Smith " surveyed to himself a lot l\ing east of the 15 rights." An attempt 



3i8 History of Rutland County. 

was made on the part of some of the New York claimants to gain possession 
of his farm ; but he resisted them with force, was sentenced to death for the 
offense, without trial ; but he was not arrested. He was the first town clerk 
of Rutland and the first representative in the General Assembly. He had five 
sons and one daughter, their names being John, Daniel, Joel, Silas, Elijah and 
Sarah, all of whom lived on the tract of land owned by their father. He bore 
the title of " Captain," and with his two sons, John and Daniel, took part in 
the battle of Bennington. i The grandson, John, familiarly known as Deacon 
John Smith, died in this town in iS6o, at the age of seventy-eight years. Sev- 
eral of the descendants of this pioneer are still living in the count)'. Captain 
John Smith died July 24, 1806, aged seventy-seven years, and his wife, Phoebe, 
died August 4, 1803, aged sixty-eight. His son John died November 22, 
1825, at the age of seventj', and the son Silas died August 16, 1801, aged 
forty-three j'ears. Elijah had a son named Elijah W. Grove L., Frank and 
John Smith were sons of the latter. 

Having now devoted considerable space to these first settlers of the town, 
let us very briefly note the arrival of the numerous pioneers who took up their 
homes here previous to the beginning of the present century, who bore the 
trials of the Revolution and successfully contested with unprincipled enemies 
for possession of their lands, and laid broad the foundations of the present pros- 
perity of the town. 

Ichabod Walker came to Rutland from Massachusetts soon after 1770 and 
settled near the site of the old court-house on Main street. His name appears 
as a purchaser of land here; but he left the place early in the Revolutionary 
struggle and after its close settled in Clarendon. 

Gideon Walker, from Coventry, Mass., settled first in the town of Claren- 
don in 1768, and four or five years later came to Rutland and located on Ot- 
ter Creek on the present Baxter farm, where he owned 100 acres. At the 
time of the evacuation of Ticonderoga his wife and four children fled to New 
Providence (now Cheshire), Mass., where they remained for a time with Lewis 
Walker, a cousin of Gideon, who afterwards settled in Clarendon. Daniel 
Walker, a brother of Gideon, settled in Clarendon at about the same time with 
his brother. Gideon lived to an advanced age and left numerous descendants 
who now live in Addison county. 

Nathaniel Chipman was one of the very early settlers and occupied a con- 
spicuous position in the young community. He was the first judge of the 
Supreme Court, a talented lawyer and an able statesman. His eminent qualifi- 

1 It is related by descendants of the family that on one occasion Daniel Smith and thirteen others 
were sent northward on a scouting expedition. In Shelburne they camped over night in a deserted 
log house, and before morning were surprised and surrounded by a band of Indians and Tories num- 
bering fifty-seven. The little party, however, kept up a brisk fire all night, and with excellent effect ; 
in the morning the besiegers were surrounded and captured and taken safely to Bennington. The old 
musket used on this occasion by Daniel Smith is in possession of his descendants. 



Town of Rutland. 



cations were recognized in many ways by his constituents. His brothers Dan- 
iel and Darius were also eminent attorneys and pioneers in this region. (See 
Chapter XVII.) 

Nathan Tuttle cnnic to the town before the Revolution and at one time 
owned a very large tract of land southwest of Rutland village. He suddenly 
and unaccountably disappeared in the summer of 1777. His name appears as 
moderator of the second proprietors' meeting, of which there are existing rec- 
ords, in November, 1773.^ At this meeting he was made a " committee to in- 
spect deeds presented, lay out lots," etc. 

Benjamin Blanchard was one of the early settlers, but we cannot give the 
date of his arrival. He was a millwright, or carpenter, and built the mill, or 
a portion of it, for Colonel Mead at Goolcin's Falls. Mead told him if he would 
give fort}- daj-s' work on the mill, he should have 100 acres of land south of 
the corners at West Rutland. This transaction probably occurred in 1772, as 
the records show that he had land of Mead in that year. He did the work 
and lived and died on the farm ; so, also, did his son Benjamin, and his grand- 
son of the same name. Chalon Blanchard, son of the third Benjamin, died on 
the farm in 1883. The elder Benjamin died in 1 801, aged seventy-five, and 
his wife Ruth, in 1824. 

James Claghorn was an associate of James Mead and one of the pioneers 
of considerable prominence. It is on record that he surveyed to himself in 
1774, 1 00 acres northeast of a lot bought by him of William Roberts. He was 
a selectman in 1779, and in that year it is recorded that he sold to James Mead 
sixty acres of land on Otter Creek. He died in 18 13, at the age of seventy- 
four; his wife died in the same j'ear. 

John Johnson came into the town from Connecticut in April, 1773, and 
li\ed where Nahum Johnson now lives, and died there ; he previousl\- settled 
where J. M. Dewey now lives, on Otter Creek. Cyrus L. and Nahum are his 
sons. The elder John Johnson was a prominent man and held the office of 
selectman for several years. Zina Johnson was also a pioneer and located near 
West Rutland, on the road to Clarendon Springs. He had sons, Harry, a 
lawyer, and Oliver, who died on the homestead before his father's death. 

1 One account of his death was as follows : " For a few weeks after the battle of Hubbardton and 
before the battle of Bennington, most of the Whigs having fled or taken protection under Burgoyne, 
the Tories in this county were entirely lords of the ascendant. Tuttle, who staid here but refused to 
take protection, on one occasion being, as was frequently the case, partially intoxicated, met a party 
of Indians and Tories, of whom were Solomon Johns and Gustavus Spencer, of Clarendon. An alter- 
cation ensued; they threatened him and he, returning the most provoking retorts, daring them to put 
their threats into execution, till Johns actually ran him through with his bayonet, killing him on the 
spot. The party then tied stones to his body and threw it into Otter Creek below Gookin's Falls. 
They then went up to Joseph Keeler's, and told him what they had done, enjoining secrecy during 
Johns' life. What had become of Tuttle was not generally -known for several years. After the war 
Johns was killed in Canada by the falling of a tree — the manner of his death being considered a Provi- 
dential retribution for the murder of Tuttle. When the news of this was received here Keeler pub- 
lished the particulars of Tuttle's death." 



320 History of Rutland County. 

Deacon Wait Chatterton settled in Rutland before 1773 (it has been claimed 
as early as 1771, but this is probably an error), locating on the farm recently 
occupied by W. H. Johnson. His wife was Susannah Dickinson and they had 
seven children, all of whom lived in the town in early years ; but most of the 
descendants have disappeared from this region. Wait Chatterton was a prom- 
inent citizen, and especially so in the early Congregational Church. His tomb- 
stone in the West Rutland burial ground bears as part of the inscription : — 
" who after a life of eighty years amid the most eventful interests of the church 
and the country, having borne a patriot's toils, discharged the duties of a citi- 
zen and enjoyed the hopes and privileges of the Christian, was gathered to his 
final rest, April 16, 1837." His wife died in 1832. Wait 2d was also a 
prominent man in the community, and lived and died on the homestead ; he 
held many town offices. James was another son of Wait ist, and a respected 
citizen. 

Rev. Benajah Roots was a prominent figure in the Rutland community 
from soon after 1 77 1 to the time of his death in March, 1787. He was the first 
settled pastor over the Congregational Church, organized in 1773. In the 
preface to his first sermon (which was printed) he said he then knew of but one 
settled Congregational minister in the whole region of country between Mas- 
sachusetts and Canada, and the Hudson and Connecticut Rivers. He came 
from Simsbury, Conn., and was a graduate of Princeton College. It is believed 
that he engaged to preach for five years, the consideration being the lot of land 
reserved for the first settled minister ; though this in reality became his prop- 
erty at the time of his installation, by virtue of his accepting the church office. 
This lot was situated in the northeast part of the town, and was never of much 
value to him ; but he purchased other lands and dealt in real estate to some 
considerable e.xtent. The lot on which he subsequently lived, with 1 00 acres 
on the opposite side of Otter Creek and 400 acres of wild land, were purchased 
by him for ;£'i95 before he came to the town. In February, 1784, he sold to 
Samuel Murdock a tract " which is the third division upon the Right of the first 
settled Minister, the original grantee, Benajah Roots." There was some dis- 
satisfaction in the small congregation after Mr. Roots had preached about five 
years, because he asked for more compensation, which led to the employment 
for at least a part of the time, of other ministers. In the year 1784 it was 
voted by the proprietors, " to levy a tax of two pence on the pound of the 
grand list of A. D. 1774, in Order to satisfy Mr. Roots for preaching of late, to 
be collected September next." That there was some feeling of antagonism to 
the preacher is indicated by the fact that this vote was soon reconsidered and 
the tax reduced to one penny. But he officiated more or less in the church 
until his death ; was a man of much strength of character and with natural 
gifts above the average. 

Roswell and William Post were prominent in the town from 1780 to 1 790, 




/^ /(V Jtcc/u^ 



Town of Rutland. 321 



and settled here among the earliest immigrants; they were probably brothers. 
There was also a Jared Post who was a contemporary with the two named and 
may have been another brother. Roswell Post was selectman in 1780 and held 
the office in several other early years, while William was moderator of most 
of the proprietors' meetings down to 1790; and the names both appear fre- 
quently in records of land transfers, committees for public duties, and else- 
where. 

Jonathan Reynolds came to the town at an early day and purchased two 
hundred and seventy-five acres of land of James Mead in the Otter Creek val- 
ley, the farm, or a portion of it, being now known as the Griggs farm. Mr. 
Reynolds was a lieutenant in the Revolutionary Army and was known as a 
great hunter and trapper. He died in 1840, when he was one hundred years 
old, lacking sixteen days. In the old North Cemetery a stone bears the record 
of the death of " Joshua Reynals," who died in 1818 at the age of seventy- five 
years. According to the Vermont Historical Alagasine, he lived at the North 
(or Merriam's) Mills. We are not aware that the two were relatives. There 
was a large number of descendants, who lived on the road from West Rutland 
to Sutherland Falls. Morris and Bradley Reynolds live in that vicinity. 

Benjamin Capron settled in the town in the early years, and had a family 
of ten children ; he located on the turnpike east of the village. Among his 
children were Benjamin, jr., who died in August, 1859, and Azor, also de- 
ceased. His wife was a daughter of Lemuel Haynes. Laban and Benjamin, 
sons of Azor, now live in this town, the former on the homestead. Theron and 
William T. Capron are sons of Benjamin, jr., and there are numerous other de- 
scendants in the county. 

Daniel Greeno settled here before the Revolution, coming from Boston. 
He located in the northeastern part of the town where Eugene Thomas now 
owns ; his title being defective, he removed to where Amasa Greeno now lives. 
He was several times driven from his home during the Revolution, taking 
refuge in Bennington. He was at the latter place during the battle and shoul- 
dered his gun and fought for freedom ; his wife remained there several weeks 
after the battle to aid in caring for the wounded. Mr. Greeno kept a tavern 
many years where Amasa now resides ; he had ten children, all of whom lived 
to maturity and had families. Of Amasa's children, Amasa A., Benjamin R., 
Betsey L., and Medora V. H. Pond now live in the town. (See biography of 
B. R. Greeno in this work). 

Amos Hines and Benjamin Farmer, jr., were among the very early settlers 
and located, the former on the present Russell Place and the latter near the 
Mendon line. Benjamin Farmer, sen., settled near his son when he was eighty 
years old, and died there ten years later. Amos Hines died in 1805 at the age 
of fifty-seven, and is buried in the old North Cemetery. 

Ashbel Cook, who was born May 3, 1741, came to Rutland from Walling- 
21 



322 History of Rutland County. 

ford, Conn., in 1778, bringing with him his family. Of his children Orel Cook 
was born soon after his father's removal here, on the 25th of June, 1778. Ash- 
bel Cook was a tailor and worked at that trade in Rutland ; he must have been 
about the first tailor in the town. It is said that his wife Rachel cooked for 
Ethan Allen, Seth Warner and their men for two or three days while they 
were preparing for the expedition to Ticonderoga; she would boil two or three 
entire sheep at a time for the party. Her name was Rice before her marriage, 
and two of her brothers were killed in the Indian massacre at Royalton. She 
died in Troy, N. Y., in 1841, at the great age of one hundred years and nine 
days. Ashbel Cook died December 16, 1801. Orel Cook, sen., engaged in 
the hat manufacture before his marriage and continued to about 1839, keeping 
during a portion of the time quite a number of workmen in the business. John 
Cook was his fifth child, born in March, 18 19, and learned his father's trade. 
In 1839 he went to Troy and carried on the business, returning to Rutland in 
1851. From about 1870 he was in trade here, and in 1882 built his block op- 
posite tlie Berwick House. Orel Cook, jr., brother of John Cook, became a 
prominent man in the community and an estimable physician. He began 
practice here about 1845 or 1846 ; was a member of the House of Representa- 
tives, and otherwise honored by his fellows. He was born in 18 13, and died 
April 8, 1884. 

Timothy Boardman came from Middletown, Conn., to Rutland in 1782, 
and located on what has always been known as " Boardman Hill," where Sam- 
uel Boardman now lives. In the year 1790 he built the house now occupied 
by Patrick Kinney. In 1783 he returned to Connecticut, married Mary Ward, 
and immediately came back with his bride. During the Revolutionary War 
he served in the navy, was captured in the West Indies and kept a prisoner for 
six months. He resided on the old homestead until his death, April 3, 1839, 
at the age of eighty-six ; he was prominent in the church and was long known 
as " Deacon." One of his sons was Elijah, who was also a deacon in the 
church for fifty years; he lived on the homestead, and died therein 1S83. 
Charles G. is another son, and is deceased. 

Joseph Kimball settled early where Ira Hawley now resides. His daugh- 
ter Betsey married Abijah Hawley. The farm has always remained in the 
family. 

Joseph Humphrey came to Rutland in 1783 from Winchester, N. H. He 
was employed soon after his arrival by Isaac Chatterton and others in building 
operations. About his first employment was on the old jail, on Main street, 
now the residence of George E. Lawrence. He purchased sixty acres of land 
of John Sutherland in about the year 1790, where R. S. Humphrey recently 
lived, for which he paid " £60 lawful money." He died in 185 i. He became 
prominent in the very early marble industry at Sutherland Falls. (See account 
of Sutherland Falls for other members of the Humphrey famil\- ; also descrip- 
tion of the marble industries of the town in later pages). 



Town of Rutland. 323 



Jabez Ward came from New Marlboro, Mass., in 1784, and settled three 
miles north of West Rutland in Whipple Hollow, where Jay Cook now lives. 
His sons were Artemas Ward, now living at West Rutland, and eight others, 
all deceased but Artemas. The latter was born in 1805 and came to West 
Rutland in 1829. 

Edward D)-er settled in Rutland in about the )-ear 1789; he was from 
Greenwich, R. I. His first wife was Sally Bowman, daughter of Lieutenant 
Bowman, of Clarendon, and his second wife was Hannah Hoxie, daughter of 
Gideon Hoxie, a Quaker of Chittenden county. Horace H. D3'er, who now 
resides a little south of Rutland village, is a son of Edward. It was on Mr. 
Dyer's farm that Captain Josiah Hart and a party of Revolutionary soldiers 
camped while on their way from Bellows Falls to Ticonderoga. Soon after the 
war Mr. Hart visited Rutland, sought out the spring near which the encamp- 
ment was made and resolved to settle there, which he did. He was a practical 
builder, aided in constructing the first church at Rutland village and other 
buildings, and died in 181 1, aged seventy-two years. His grandson, George 
W. Hart, lives on the homestead. 

We have mentioned Isaac Chatterton ; he settled on a farm now owned by 
Colonel Redfield Proctor and recently by German H. Chatterton. Leverett 
Chatterton was his son, and was born on the farm in 1789, -and resided on the 
place until his death in 1877. 

Three brothers named McConnell came to Rutland soon after the Revolu- 
tionary War ; their names were John, Samuel and James. They located south 
of Rutland village, John on the farm now owned by John C. Doty. He had a 
son James, who lived on the homestead until his death in December, 1877. 
Samuel died in 1832, aged seventy-two years; and John died in 1839, aged 
seventy-seven. They were all respectable farmers, and have descendants now 
living in the county. William McConnell, son of one of the three brothers, 
lived south of the village, and was a prominent citizen. He died in 1850. 
Thomas was brother of James, jr., and died in Rutland. 

Jesse Thrall settled in the town in the last decade of the last century, 
locating in the west parish in Whipple Hollow. His wife's maiden name was 
Mabel Rose. There the venerable Reuben R. Thrall was born December 5, 
1795. In 1 8 14 he came to the east part of the town and settled ; he was clerk 
in the post-office early in the century, when William D. Smith was postmaster. 
Mr. Smith was a lawyer, and Mr. Thrall studied with him, and finally was ad- 
mitted to the bar and became Mr. Smith's partner. Although he is now ninety 
years old he occasionally does legal business, and is believed to be the oldest 
practicing attorney in the world. His wife was Elizabeth Gove, daughter of 
Jesse Gove. A daughter of Mr. Thrall married Frederick Chaffee, now of 
Rutland, and his son William B. lives in Rutland ; George lives in Denver. 
Aaron Thrall died in 1810 at the age of forty-seven ; he lived at the time on 



History of Rutland County. 



a farm now owned by the Dr. Sheldon estate. Chauncey Thrall settled early 
where R. C. Thrall now lives. He was a prominent man — member of the 
Legislature, justice, etc., and died in 1844. His son Chauncey died in 1874. 
Jonathan G. Thrall, one of the leading farmers of the town, and a man of strong 
character, lived one-half mile north of Rutland village, and died in 1852 at the 
age of fifty- eight. 

Nathaniel Gove was the pioneer of that name in this town and himself and 
descendants have filled prominent stations in the community. He was born in 
Coventry, Conn., on the 21st of April, 1739, and died in Rutland September 
9, 18 1 3. We have but very meagre details of his settlement here, but he came 
at an early day; his son, Colonel Jesse Gove, was born in February, 1784, in 
Bennington. He early came to Rutland and read law with Cephas Smith, jr., 
and was admitted to the Rutland county bar at the March term of 1818. He 
married Sophia Ingersoll in 1809, and in the same )'ear was appointed clerk of 
the United States District and Circuit Courts for the district of Vermont, and 
held the office until his death. He was appointed postmaster at Rutland in 
1841. His military title was gained by his rank of colonel in the militia. He 
died April 30, 1842. 

Jude Moulthrop came to the town about the year 1792, at which time Na- 
than Osgood deeded to him the greater part of the farm now occupied by Mrs. 
H. J. Moulthrop ; the northern part of the same farm was deeded to him by 
Gideon Tuttle. Jude Moulthrop died December 10, 1800, and left among his 
children, Truman Moulthrop, Nathan Moulthrop and a daughter named Laura, 
now widow of Daniel Gleason. Truman became a prominent citizen. Tru- 
man's third child and first son was Robert Moulthrop, who was born on the 
farm now occupied by his heirs, December 8, 1825. Truman Moulthrop held 
various town offices and was much respected. 

Daniel Graves removed from Whately, Mass., to Rutland county in 1792, 
locating first in the town of Ira, where he established a tannery, shoe shop, hat 
manufactory and kept a tavern. He-may have lived a few years at West Rut- 
land, as we find him in 1796 advertising a " good dwelling, shoemaker's shop, 
tan-yard and tan-house, with one acre and forty-seven rods of land situated a 
few rods south of the meeting-house. West Parish, Rutland." In any event, 
after his death his son George carried on the business until 1832, when he re- 
moved to Rutland and built up the tanning business north of the village at 
what became known as " Tan-yard Village." This establishment was destroyed 
by fire. He also owned a tannery at Chase's Mills, N. Y., in company with 
his sons, George and Charles E. He died in 1879 and his sons took control 
of the business. George E. Graves now carries on a drug store in Rutland 
village. 

The eccentric John A. Graham was a resident of Rutland in the last decade 
of the last century, and we find him making in 1795 the newspaper announce- 



Town of Rutland. 325 



ment that his creditors must pay up as he was about to leave the State. He 
was the first lawyer located in Rutland and wrote a book of early reminiscences 
and memoirs of Vermont men, from which we quote in later pages. He built 
his dwelling three stories high, on the corner occupied in later years by Dan- 
iels & Bell, Main street, and placed his coat-of-arms on a part of the roof The 
heavy tornado of 1789, which unroofed several buildings, moved his house 
from its foundation and blew down the coat of-arms. 

The Cheney family was a prominent one in the town in early times. Ger- 
shom (see extracts from his diary a little further on), Samuel and Abel came 
here from Londonderry in 1793 and located on what has been called " Cheney 
Hill," north of Rutland village. Abel had six children, one of whom was Ben- 
jamin, father of Lyman S., who now lives in the village. Abel lived in Rut- 
land only a few years and died in Canada in i860. Gershom became a con- 
spicuous figure in pioneer times ; he was an architect and builder of promi- 
nence, planned and helped to build the old brick church, and erected many of 
the oldest houses in the place, including that recently occupied by Luther 
Daniels, and the old Kilburn house next south of the Governor Page residence. 
He held most of the town offices, was selectman in 181 2-13 and '14, and made 
the grand list after he was eighty years of age. He built tlie first aqueduct 
from a spring in the town of Mendon to supply Rutland with water; there was 
then no reservoir; he also kept a tavern on his place north of the village for 
eleven years. He had no children and died much respected in September, 
1855. Gershom Cheney, now living in Rutland village, is a nephew of the 
elder Gershom and son of Abel. He was proprietor of the old Franklin House 
from 1854 until it was destroyed by fire in 1868. 

Eliakim Cheney, belonging to another branch of this name, came to Rut- 
land from Dedham, with his brother Abner, before the beginning of the pres- 
ent century and located on South Main street. On their land brick were man- 
ufactured for many of the early brick buildings in this section. Eliakim had 
two sons, Warner and Hiram L. ; they were among the early masons here ; 
the former now lives in Troy, and Hiram L. died in 1880; he had also one 
daughter, Rosina, now widow of Moses Curtis. George H. and Henry W., 
now in mercantile business in Rutland, are sons of Hiram L. Cheney. 

John Ruggles came to Rutland from Pomfret, Conn., in 1794, locating on 
what has been called the Ruggles farm, included in which was the site of the 
railroad depot. He died in I 83 I, and his farm was inherited by his son, the 
late Gershom C. Ruggles, who died in 1885. He was a prominent man in the 
community. His oldest son was named John and another was Henry, now of 
Boston, and still another, George R., of Aurora, 111. 

The Rev. Samuel Williams, LL.D., removed to Rutland in 1788, having 
held the professorship of mathematics and natural philosophy in Harvard Uni- 
versity. He was born in Waltham, Mass., about 1740. He was during his 



326 History of Rutland County. 

life here one of the very foremost men of the county ; indeed, of the State. 
In 1794 he preached the election sermon, and was chaplain of the Assembly 
the same session. (For his connection with the Rutland press see Chapter 
XV.) In 1794 he published The Natural and Civil History of Vermont, 
which was extended in 1808 ; he was one of the founders of the University of 
Vermont. In writing of him John A. Graham said: " He is the most enlight- 
ened man in the State, in every branch of philosophy and polite learning." 
He died in January, 181 7. 

Hon. Samuel Williams was also one of the earliest settlers and most dis- 
tinguished residents of Rutland, and one of the few Whigs who remained in 
Rutland after the evacuation of Ticonderoga. He was for many years town 
clerk and selectman ; represented the town in General Assembly from 1783 to 
1794, except 1786, and in 1798-99; councilor from 1795 to 1798; judge of 
Rutland County Court from 1790 to 1793 inclusive; chief judge from 1794 to 
1799 inclusive, and held this ofifice at the time of his death. He, with the Rev. 
Samuel Williams, were the founders of the Rutland Herald, and published it 
several years. To him is also to be credited the existence of the Rutland vil- 
lage " green," or park, on Main street, most of the funds for its purchase being 
contributed by him and he being the first grantee named in the deeds (" To 
Samuel Williams and other inhabitants of said town of Rutland.") The tablet 
above his remains in the old North Burial Ground bears as a part of the in- 
scription : " He was a pillar of church and of state and lived and died the Father 
of this Village and the Friend of Mankind. Over the remains of his mortal 
part, as a testimony of his virtues, this marble placed by his Masonic brethren, 
June 24th, A. L. 5800." He died February 28, 1800. 

Levi Long settled in Rutland in 1799, coming from Coventry, Conn., and 
locating about three miles northeast from the village. He had seven sons and 
one daughter. 

Matthias Ames settled on the farm now-occupied by his grandson, Matthias, 
in 1785. He was a Revolutionary soldier, from Stockbridge, Mass. 

Gad Daniels, from Worthington, Mass., settled in Rutland in 1783, on the 
farm now occupied by S. L. Daniels, on the road to West Rutland. His son 
Stephen was killed while assisting to build a bridge at Center Rutland in 
1835- 

John Hall came to Rutland in 1798, when he was but four years old. He 
subsequently learned the saddler's trade, and later became a merchant in the 
village, with his brother William. Later in his life he gave up trade and re- 
tired to his farm in the northern part of the town, where he passed the remainder 
of his life. He died in 1868, at the age of seventy-five years. John M. 
Hall, now of Rutland, is his son, and the only descendant here. William 
Hall was born in November, 1780, and died September 13, 1850. He became 
judge of probate and held other positions of trust and responsibility. Henry 



Town of Rutland. 327 



Hall, now residing in Rutland, and a historical writer of ability, is son of Hon. 
William Hall. 

Noah Griswold settled in Whipple Hollow in 1 800, where his grandsons 
now live. He was the father of Edwin L. Griswold, who lives in West Rut- 
land ; the latter has been in the Legislature. Frank Griswold is another son. 

James Porter was son of a surgeon of the British army who was in this 
country during the Revolution ; he came to Rutland when ten years old to 
reside with his uncle, Ezekiel Porter, where he remained until he was eighteen 
years old ; he then began the study of medicine and, graduating at the age of 
twenty-three, began practice in Rutland, and was prominent in the profession 
for more than fifty years ; he was also one of the foremost citizens in all the 
affairs of the village. His eldest son, Henry W. Porter, resided at the old 
homestead, No. 83 Main street, until his death in 1884; other prominent 
representatives of this family were Dr. Cyrus Porter, Dr. James B. Porter and 
Dr. Hannibal Porter, and Dr. Charles Porter, of Boston. (See Chapter XVI.) 

Among the earliest settlers of Pawlet was Captain Simeon Edgerton, from 
Stamford, Conn. He died in 1809 at the age of seventy years, leaving a 
widow and twelve children. Jacob Edgerton and two others remained in Paw- 
let. Jacob had twelve children, of whom nine lived to maturity, and he died in 
1845. ^3ut two of this family are now living. Jacob Edgerton, jr., is still 
living in Rutland at the age eighty-five. He has been a prominent citizen in 
business and politics; held the office of sheriff" for twenty-two years, and other 
positions of honor. 

Moses Hale and Stephen Hale were among the early settlers. The latter 
located about one and one-half miles east of the village on the turnpike, and 
resided there till his death. Franklin S. Hale is his son. Moses Hale was a 
prominent man at a very early day and his name appears frequently in the 
town records, in land transfers, etc. He was father of Deacon Asa Hale, who 
lived at " Tan-yard Village," where he owned a large farm, and of Thomas 
Hale, who died in 1812, in middle life. Deacon Asa died in 1843 ^t the age of 
eighty-four years, and was a man of prominence in the community. 

The foregoing brief sketches embrace the names of a large proportion of 
the pioneers who settled in the town previous to the beginning of the present 
century. Relative to others of whom less is kno\\;n the reader must content 
himself with the briefest memoranda, and such other mention as will appear 
in the description of the trade and industries of the town. 

Solomon Smith settled in the town early — probably before 1800, and lived 
a little east of the village ; he had a son. Deacon John, but his descendants 
are all dead. Henry Gould was a prominent citizen in the early years of the 
century; was jailor in 1 807, and we find him offering " $50 reward for the ar- 
rest of Abner Hayes, the well-known counterfeiter, wlio broke gaol July 2, 
1807." Henry was a brother of Nathaniel and died in 1820. Nathaniel 



328 History of Rutland County. 

Gould kept the old Franklin House in early years, when it was known as 
" Gould's Tavern." He was born in Claremount, Vt, September 22, 1786, 
and died in Westminster, Vt., March 25, 1853. He had several daughters; 
Clarissa married Daniel P. Bell, the early Rutland merchant, and lives in Flor- 
ida ; Helen Mary married Elisha Avery, of Detroit ; Priscilla married a Mr. 
Elmore, of Peru, N. Y.; Narcissy married Mr. Hawley, of Detroit, and is 
dead; Jane married Dr. Cyrus Porter and now lives on the old Porter home- 
stead in Rutland. 

Jonathan Shaw, born in 1771, died in 1839. His first wife was Mary, 
daughter of Obadiah Boss. Dr. Shaw formerly lived in the house now occu- 
pied by C. H. Sherman at West Rutland and was a conspicuous man in the 
community. He owned a grist-mill at Clarendon Springs at one time, and 
died there of a cancer. Moses Lester was a prominent citizen and lived where 
Frank Duncklee now owns. He died in 1857 at the age of eighty-seven years. 
Captain William Poland was an early settler and died in the town in 18 10 at 
the age of seventy-three years ; he has descendants now living in the town, 
the wife of Horatio Mead being one of them. Seth Gorham died August 29, 
1852, aged ninety years. He was a man of consequence in the town. His 
son, Judson Gorham, married Theodocia Thrall. Dr. John A. Mead, of Rut- 
land village, is a grandson of Seth Gorham. Lieutenant Samuel Campbell 
lived on what was known as " Campbell's Hill," one and one-half miles from 
Rutland; he died in 1 8 19, aged eighty-eight years. David Tuttle, who bore 
the military title of " Captain," was one of the very early settlers and lived on 
the south part of Main street; he died in 1820, aged sixty eight. Robert 
Temple, from Braintree, Mass., was born in 1783 and died in 1834; he was 
father of Charles Temple and grandfather of Edwin L. Temple, now of Rut- 
land ; he was a lawyer, and the family have always been prominent in the com- 
munit}- ; Admiral William G. Temple (retired), of Washington, and Robert 
Emmett Temple, of New York State, are sons of Robert Temple. Charles 
K. Williams came to Rutland in 1790, and died March 9, 1853, aged seventy- 
one years ; his wife was Lucy J. Langdon, daughter of Chauncey Langdon, 
of Castleton. Mr. Williams was an attorney ; held prominent political of- 
fices — ^judge, justice, governor, etc., — and was one of the foremost citizens in 
all respects ; Charles K. Williams, now a practicing attorney of Rutland, is his 
grandson. (See Chapter XVII.) Jonathan Wells was one of the first settlers 
and owned large tracts of land ; the stone that marks his resting place bears 
the following inscription : "As a tribute of affection to his memory and respect 
for his industry, fidelity, integrity and uprightness, this stone is erected by his 
mourning brethren." He died in 18 13. Issacher Reed was conspicuous 
among the early settlers, having come here as early as 1794 ; he for a long per- 
iod kept the Reed Hotel, a well-known tavern on Main street, which was 
burned; the records show that he owned a farm of thirt\'-fi\'e acres on the 



Town of Rutland. 329 



post road "one and one-half miles from the court-house, well situate where a 
tavern has been kept for five years and is now licensed." This announcement 
appeared in the Herald ; Mr. Reed also kept a store for a time near West Rut- 
land. He died in 1838 at the age of eighty years. Truman Squire Reed, 
who died in Wallingford, was a son of Issacher. Hon. Israel Smith was a 
leading man in Rutland after about the year 1 79 1, and was the fourth gover- 
nor of the State; he held many other important offices, and he died in 1810. 
(See history of the Bench and Bar of the County). Dr. James Ross, who has 
been sketched in the chapter devoted to the medical profession, died in 1856, 
aged forty-five years. Charles E. Ross, now of Rutland, is his son. Deacon 
Ezekiel Green, who lived where Ruel Todd now resides, died in 1829; his son, 
William Green, succeeded him on that farm and died there ; he had another 
son, Enoch, who lived opposite the homestead ; Enoch's son, Hiland E., now 
lives on the homestead. Daniel Gleason, 1st, was an early settler and died in 
1835 at the age of seventy-three years ; he had sons Charles and Daniel, 2d ; 
the latter was a prominent farmer and lived where Caleb Buffum now resides, 
south of Rutland village; he died in 1855; his wife was Laura Moulthrop, 
sister of Truman Moulthrop. Deacon William Barr was a prominent early 
churchman and much respected. He died in 18 1 3 at the age of sixty-four 
years ; he was selectman several years beginning with 1785; on his grave- 
stone appears the following : " As an officer in the church, highly respected ; 
as a neighbor, kind, peaceable and benevolent; as a citizen, firm in the support 
of the constitutional rights of his country ; a lover of good men, himself be- 
loved by all." Deacon Daniel Ford was another conspicuous church officer of 
early years ; he was a farmer and lived at the North Mills; he died in 1829, 
aged sixty years. Ozias Fuller was a tanner and lived on Main street, where 
Dr. Allen now resides; he died in 1819. Captain Nicholas Goddard was a 
well-known character early in this century ; he was a jeweler, his shop being 
on the corner of Main and West streets, and was associated there with Captain 
Benjamin Lord ; there they manufactured the old-fashioned hall clocks, which to- 
day command a higher price than when new. Joseph Allen lived, down to 
1858, when he died at the age of ninety-six years, about two miles east of the 
village. William Alvord came from Northampton, Mass., at an early day and 
died here in Februarj-, 1853, aged eighty-seven years. He was a cabinet- 
maker, one of the first in the place, and had a shop on the east side of Main 
street where Richard Spaulding is now located ; he was the father of Cephas 
and General Benjamin Alvord, former paymaster-general of the army, who 
died in Washington in 1884. Dr. Joel Green, who was a partner of Dr. Joel 
Porter in 1820, lived where Moses Perkins afterward resided, corner of Main 
and Green streets ; Mrs. C. C. Alvord is his daughter and Dunham G. Green 
his son. Samuel Merriam was an early settler and a miller at the North Mills, 
or " Merriam's Mills," as they were called ; he operated the mills and also had 



330 History of Rutland County. 



charge of Barrett's distillery at that point; he lived on Cottage street and died 
there in 1867. Frequent allusion has been and will hereafter be made to 
William Fay, the early publisher of the Herald ; he was a prominent man in 
the community for many years. One of his daughters, Mary, became the wife of 
Richard Gookin, the manufacturer of Center Rutland ; another married Silas 
H. Hodges, and another Horace T. White, then of Rutland ; still another be- 
came the wife of Senator Solomon Foot, and the fifth daughter married Al- 
bert Robinson, who died in Washington, D. C. A further sketch of Mr. Fay 
will be found in the chapter giving a history of the county press. William Page 
was born of a family which was prominent in the early history of this State, in 
September, 1779. He graduated from Yale College and became a leading 
lawyer in Rutland. He was made the first cashier of the Bank of Rutland in 
1824, and was otherwise honored by his townsmen. He had a large family of 
children ; Hon. John S. Page, of Rutland (lately deceased), was his son (see 
biography in later pages), and Mrs. Newton Kellogg, Mrs. Pease, Mrs. J. B. 
Hollister and Mrs. William Barnes are daughters ; another daughter, Mrs. S. 
D. Winslow, resides in Pittsford. Dr. George Page, of Crown Point, and Eg- 
bert Page, who lives in Iowa, are sons. Abner Moon was an early settler and a 
tanner one-half mile south of the village, on Moon's Brook; he died in 1836 
and has no descendants about here. Joshua Osgood, who died in 1833, was 
a prominent farmer and father of Phineas Osgood, who lives on the old home- 
stead four miles north of the village. Jonathan Bell was among the first set- 
tlers, and died in 1804; he was a prominent man in the early history of the 
town, and, according to the inscription on his grave-stone, " was seventeen 
years sheriff of the county of Rutland, the duties of which office he discharged 
with high reputation to himself and usefulness to the public ; " he has no de- 
scendants here now. William Eayres, who died in 1834 at the age of seventy 
years, lived where William, his grandson, now resides, in the Greeno neigh- 
borhood north of the village ; George N. and James are also grandsons ; the 
former is now superintendent of the House of Correction. Cephas Smith was 
a prominent man in Rutland early in the century ; we find him in 181 1 offer- 
ing for sale " a beautiful situation in the southwest corner of Rutland Green 
containing twelve acres, dwelling house, etc.; also in the southwest corner of 
the green half an acre of land and a good dwelling-house." The latter was 
the Strong place; he died in 1815. Colonel John Ramsdell appears to have 
been a prominent man and held the office of selectman several years ; he died 
in 1807 and has no descendants hereabouts. Lewis Meacham, also, who died 
in 1813, was a respected citizen and father of Hon. James Meacham, of Addi- 
son county, and of Lewis Meacham, of New Haven, Vt. Both died in Addi- 
son county. Daniel Squier, who died in 1858, at the advanced age of ninet)-- 
six years, lived near the Osgood place and had a large family. Harwood 
Squier, now living on Woodstock avenue, is of this family. Jonathan Dike 



Town of Rutland. 331 



was a native of Pittsford and lived for many years on the corner of Main and 
"Washington streets ; he was a prominent man, held the office of sheriff many 
years, and other positions; he died in 1 87 1 at the age of eighty-four years. 
Otis Fisher was one of the early butchers of the town and grandfather of 
Harrison and Wilson Fisher; he died in 1845. Moses Perkins was an early 
settler of the town of Clarendon, and was afterward a farmer on the east side 
of Main street in the southern part of the old village. He died in 1858 at the 
age of seventy-two years. Henry O. Perkins, of Rutland, is his son, and a 
daughter is the wife of Henry Hayward. William Gilmore come from Lon- 
donderry with his f-ither and located in the town of Ira before 1800. About 
the year 1 8 10 William removed to West Rutland, where he carried on the 
farm now occupied by his son, James L. Gilmore. He died in Ira, where he 
also owned a farm. Captain William Gilmore, now living in Rutland, is a son 
of the elder William, and has been prominent in the business circles of the 
town. He was associated with George T. Hodges as a merchant, and in the 
firm of Clement, Gilmore & Barnes in the marble business, when it was in its 
infancy. He has now retired from most active business. The foregoing 
names must suffice to inform the reader of a very large majority of the pio- 
neers who devoted their lives to the establishment of homes, and the intro- 
duction of early manufacturing operations and mercantile pursuits in the town 
of Rutland. Though in many cases the memory, even, of their deeds is lost, 
and in others but meagre details of their lives can be gleaned, it is eminently 
fit that whatever is known of their coming and going and the part they per- 
formed in the up-building of the town should be set down in a permanent 
record. 

Coming down to a later period the town saw the immigration from various 
localities of a class of men, many of whom have left the deep impress of their 
life-work on the general, social, and industrial interests of the community ; men 
of marked characters, powerful intellect and eminent in moral qualities. A 
brief mention of some of these must complete the personal sketches of the 
town. 

Moses Strong was one of the foremost citizens of Rutland and the present 
generation still profits by the results of his energy. He was a son of John 
Strong, of Addison county, and was born in Connecticut. He studied for the 
legal profession and married in Shoreham for his first wife a daughter of Dan- 
iel Smith, in 18 10, about which time he came to Rudand. He lived first where 
Charles Ross now resides, and about 1840 removed to what is known as " the 
Strong place," on Main street. ^ He held the office of county judge, was fore- 
most in the legal profession and a leading citizen. His family consisted of 
Moses M. Strong, now living in Wisconsin and seventy-five years old ; John, 

1 An architect from tlie East passed through the State at a very early day and made plans for sev- 
eral of the largest houses in the village, the Strong house among them. 



332 History of Rutland County. 

who lives in Washington; George W,, died in 1859;' and four daughters. 
He died September 29, 1842. His brother, Samuel Strong, was a conspicu- 
ous figure in the battle of Plattsburg, and bore the title of " General ; " he 
was of Vergennes. Moses Strong became one of the foremost men of Rutland ; 
owned large tracts of land and was very prominent in the early railroad opera- 
tions of the State. (See chapter on the Internal Improvements of the County.) 
His son, Moses M., was a prominent attorney, and went to Wisconsin where 
he now lives and is a prominent citizen. 

Robert Pierpoint, who was a resident of Rutland after about the close of 
the War of 1812, was a man of eminence in the State. He was born May 4, 
1 79 1, at Litchfield, Conn. At seven years of age he went to live with an 
uncle in Manchester. He studied law with Governor Richard Skinner, and 
though of feeble constitution, was indefatigable in the pursuit of a knowledge 
of his chosen profession. In June, 18 12, he was admitted to the bar in Ben- 
nington county. Soon after his removal to Rutland he was made deputy col- 
lector of the direct ta.x, which duty he suceessfully performed. He was sent 
to the Legislature in the years 1819, 1823 and 1857; was a member of the 
Constitutional Conventions of 1822 and 1828 ; from 1825 to 1830 inclusive was 
a member of the State Council ; was State senator from 1836 to 1S39 inclusive ; 
was county clerk from 1820 to 1839; judge of probate 1832-33 ; in 1848 was 
elected lieutenant-governor of Vermont ; received the degree of M. A. from 
Middlebury College in 1826, and from the University of Vermont in 1838 ; in 
1850 he was made judge of the Circuit Court, continuing to 1859. He died in 
1864 with honors thick upon him. Evelyn Pierpoint, now a prominent citizen 
of Rutland, is his only son. 

Charles Burt, who was born at Bellows trails in 1791, came to Rutland in 
18 I 3. His father was Leonard Burt, son of Benjamin Burt who died at Bellows 
Falls at the age of ninety-four years. Charles Burt was a nephew of William 
Fay, the eminent publisher of Rutland village (see history of the County Press), 
and engaged in business with him and Mr. Davidson as publishers and book- 
sellers. A few years later he formed a partnership with Barnard McConnell 
in mercantile business; the firm afterward changed to Burt & Mason (Lester 
Mason) and then to Burt & Son (the latter being B. H. Burt) ; this began in 
1850 and continued ten years. B. H. Burt continued the business to 1873, and 
took in Eugene Sherman ; two years later the latter retired and Mr. Burt 
still continues trade alone, and is one of the leading dry goods houses of Rut- 
land. Of his children, Charles Fay Burt died in Rutland ; George, in St. Au- 
gustine, Florida; James B., is now in Palatka, Florida, and William is in busi- 
ness in Chicago ; Henry died in New Orleans ; Helen was the wife first of J. 
C. Dexter, the first sherifT of San Francisco, and, second, of General Hall, of 
Wallingford, and, third, of Hosea Eddy of that town ; Margaret is the widow 
of A. F. Spencer. 

I See biography of George W. Strong in later pages of this work. 



Town of Rutland. 333 



Ebenezer Mussey came to Rutland before 1800 and in that year built the 
house on the old Mussey place, which is still standing, a mile south of the vil- 
lage, and owned by A. C. Bates. His sons were Harry, Charles, George and 
Edward ; the latter the father of W. B. Mussey, a merchant in Rutland ; he 
also had two daughters. Edward, who was born in 1798, went to Mendon, 
where he kept a tavern until 1850, known as "the old Mussey stand ; " he 
subsequently removed to Middlebury, where he kept tavern, and then to the 
farm north of Middlebury village now owned by Joseph Battelle ; he died there 
in 1878. Besides W. B., he had several sons and three daughters. Harry 
Mussey lived and died on the old homestead, had a large family, one daughter 
becoming the wife of Gen. Benjamin Alvord, of the U. S. army, and now lives 
in W'ashington. 

P'rancis Slason, who died in 1884, was born in Stamford, Conn., in March, 
1790; he went to Troy, N. Y., in 1804, and nine years later removed to West 
Rutland, where he purchased the store of Nathan Bristol and carried on a 
mercantile business for forty y;sars. He also became interested in the marble 
and other interests, as will hereafter appear; he was a director in the National 
Bank of Rutland, from its organization in 1824 to the time of his death; he 
lived to the great age of ninety-four years and was one of the foremost citizens 
of the town ; his widow and a number of descendants now live in the town. 

Luther Daniels came from Keene, N. H., to Rutland in 1814, and became 
one of the leading business men and prominent citizens of the village. He first 
engaged here as a clerk in the store of Daniel Chipman for three years, when 
he returned to Keene and remained until he reached his majority. He then 
came back to Rutland and began business in the old Daniels store, which now 
forms a part of tlie "Cheney store" on Main street, continuing in trade there 
for a period of thirty years and doing the largest business in the place. Daniel 
P. Bell was associated with him for a number of years and the firm of Daniels 
& Bell was favorably known throughout the county. He was chosen treasu- 
rer and president of the Rutland Savings Bank in 1850 and held the office until 
1879. He represented the town in the Legislature and in the Senate for four 
years, and was foremost in all good works. He died in August, 1885, in the 
eighty-seventh year of his age. His first wife was Caroline Bradbury ; she died 
in 1837 and in 1844 he married the daughter of Moses Strong and widow of 
Rodney C. Royce. Mr. Royce was one of the leading attorneys of the place 
and died in 1836, at the age of thirty-six years. A daughter of Mr. Daniels 
is the wife of the Rev. Dr. Norman Seaver ; another daughter is unmarried. 

Avery Billings came to Rutland in 18 1 8, from Guilford, Vt., and located 
on the west side of the creek, where Jesse L. Billings now resides. The place 
is a portion of the ministerial lot, and was purchased by Mr. Billings from the 
first settled minister. Mr. B. held various offices of honor and trust, and as a 
farmer accumulated considerable wealth. He married Marj- Packer, a sister of 



334 History of Rutland County. 

Rev. Daniel Packer, who was so long and favorably known in the township of 
Mount Holly. The Packer family are descendants of the Packers who came ta 
this country from England about the year 1651, and settled in Connecticut. 
Mary Billings married John Cain, who was a prominent man in Rutland for 
many years. Mr. Billings died in 1S60, at the age of seventy-seven, much 
lamented. 

James Barrett came to Rutland from Concord, Mass., in 18 19, locating in 
the village, where he was engaged in mercantile pursuits for a period of about 
forty years. He was a prominent man of the town for many years, dying in 
1875, in the eighty- third year of his age. When he first came to the village 
he occupied the house now owned by E. A. Morse, and subsequently a house 
located on the site now occupied by J. B. Harris's residence, and finally the 
house corner of Main and Washington streets, in which he resided for a period 
of forty years. Mr. Barrett was a descendant of Col. James Barrett, who com- 
manded the first regiment raised in Massachusetts, and which contained the 
companies who took part in the battles of Concord and Lexington. He was 
also one of the Committee of Safety, and also had charge of the collection of 
provisions and supplies, for the destruction of which the British troops were 
sent to Concord. Of the descendants now living in town there are : the wife 
of Evelyn Pierpoint, the wife of Hon. W. C. Dunton, Ellen C. Barrett, un- 
married, and Rockwood Barrett, treasurer of the Columbian Marble Company. 

Robert Patterson came to Rutland from Montpelier, Vt., in 18 16. He 
served in the War of 18 1 2 and was at the battle of Plattsburg. While in the 
army he contracted a disease which resulted in paralysis, from the effects of 
which he never recovered. He died in 1848, in his si.xty fifth year. He was 
the father of six children, three of whom are now living. Robert E. resides 
in the town about four miles north of the village. 

The Hodges family were of the town of Clarendon, but George T. became 
a resident of Rutland in early life. He was the third son of Dr. Silas Hodges, 
and born in 1788. He became one of the staunch business men of Rutland 
and was called to fill many positions of trust and honor ; he represented the 
town in the Assembly and the county in the Senate, several years in each oflice, 
and on the death of Hon. James Meacham, member of Congress, in 1856, Mr. 
Hodges was chosen to fill the vacancy. He was a director in the old Bank of 
Rutland from its organization to his death, and a director and vice-president in 
the Rutland and Burlington Railroad Company. He died in August, i860. 

Few if any families in the county have greater claims upon the attention of 
the annalist than the Sheldons. Medad Sheldon came to Rutland before the 
beginning of the present century; his wife was Lucy Bass, of Sharon, Conn. 
He built a hotel atXenter Rutland and other buildings, and carried on black- 
smithing there. He died July 27, 1846, while on a visit to St. Lawrence 
county, N. Y. His eldest son was Lorenzo, born in 1801, died September 5, 



^^N 




/cy^iyL-cur-H/ 



i 



Town of Rutland. 335 



1880. He studied medicine at the Castleton Medical College and graduated 
in January, 1820, returning to Rutland to begin practice with Dr. Jonathan 
Shaw, with whom he formed a partnership ; one year later Dr. Shaw removed 
to Clarendon Springs. Dr. Sheldon removed to St. Lawrence county in 1826, 
but remained only two years, when he returned and resumed practice in Rut- 
land. Ill 1S35 he became interested with William F. Barnes, and then began 
the marble industr}', whicli has since been developed to enormous proportions 
by his descendants. Later he was associated with Francis Slason, which con- 
tinued until 1865, when he sold out and retired from active business in that 
direction. (See biographies of Charles and John A. Sheldon). He continued 
to carry on a large real estate business during the remainder of his active life. 
He was married in 1823 to Mahala Smith, of West Rutland, a descendant of 
tlie pioneer John Smith ; their children were Sophronia, born 1823, died 1872 ; 
Darwin Rush, born 1826, died 1834; Charles S., born 1834, died 1835 ; Lucy 
Amorette, born 1836, died 1837; Lucy Lorenda, born 1838, widow of Har- 
mon Goss, of West Rutland; Harley G., born 1840, lives at West Rutland; 
Mary Kate, born 1844, died 1869. The other children of Medad Sheldon 
were: Mary Lyman, born 1802, died ; Caroline, born 1804 and de- 
ceased; Sophronia, born 1806, deceased ; Lucy Amorette, born 1809, deceased ; 
Richard Preston, born 181 1, drowned in Florida; Charles, born 1813, now liv- 
ing in Rutland, and the senior member of the great marble firm of Sheldon & 
Sons; Henry Aaron, born 1815, deceased; Chandler, born 1820, deceased I 
Emily Janette, born 1 82 1, wife of Edward Sheppard, of West Rutland. The 
sons of Charles Sheldon, who are associated with him in the marble industry, 
are John A., Charles H., Archie L.. and William K. (See history of the mar- 
ble industry of the town). 

In this connection it is proper to give a brief sketch of William F. Barnes, 
who has been mentioned as the partner of Lorenzo Sheldon and the pioneer in 
the West Rutland marble business. He was born in Pittsford in 1806. His 
parents went West, but he remained here and took up his residence while a 
boy with Elijah Boardman, in West Rutland. His younger years, and down 
to the time when he was about thirty years old, appear to have been a period 
of considerable vicissitude, and developed the remarkable energy, industry and 
perseverance that characterized liis after life. In 1836 he discovered the mar- 
ble deposit at West Rutland, and was convinced that it was of inestimable 
value ; he purchased a tract of hill and swamp lands and began the task of 
opening the marble deposit and reclaiming the low lands. A considerable 
tract of before worthless land now presents a surface of excellent meadow, and 
the Barnes House and another large brick block, erected by him at West Rut- 
land, stand upon soil that was made by him. His energy was tireless ; his 
perseverance in the face of many difficulties almost phenomenal ; fortunes have 
been made from the quarries that he was instrumental in opening, and yet Mr. 



2^6 History of Rutland County. 

Barnes, although having a considerable estate at one time, did not become 
wealthy. He represented Rutland two years in the Legislature and gained the 
esteem of his fellow-citizens. He was killed in May, 1871, by a block of mar- 
ble which fell in the quarry and struck him on the head, crushing his skull. 
(Further reference to his work and life will be found in the chapter devoted to 
the marble industry of the county). 

Thaddeus Dunklee, from New Hampshire, came to Rutland in 18 12, where 
he married Elizabeth Capron, July 29, 1822, by whom he had five children, 
Benjamin F., Hiram, Sarah, Samuel and George. But two are now living, 
George in Boston, Mass., and Benjamin F. in Rutland. He died in 1859. 

Hon. James D. Butler came to Rutland among the pioneers before 1790, 
and was one of the early merchants of the village ; his store was situated where 
J. M. Haven now lives; he was a partner for a time with T. J. Lyon, and the 
firm dissolved in 1796, the business being continued by Mr. Butler. He died 
in 1842, aged seventy- seven years. He was father of James Davie Butler, who 
was born in Rutland in March, 1815 ; the latter, after proper preparation, en- 
tered Middlebury College in 1832 and graduated four years later. In 1840 he 
graduated from the Theological Seminary at Andover. In 1842 he started on 
a European tour, returning in December, 1843. At different periods down to 
1867 he was professor of ancient languages in Norwich University (1845), Pro- 
fessor of Greek at Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Ind. ; professor of both 
Greek and Latin in the University of Wisconsin, and filled several congrega- 
tional pulpits. In 1867 hs began another European tour and has been in 
Europe twice since. He has also traveled extensively in this country. Pro- 
fessor Butler is an able writer in both prose and verse, and has published sev- 
eral volumes. He now resides in Madison, Wisconsin. 

William Y. Ripley came from Middlebury to Rutland in 1837, locating at 
Center Rutland, where he engaged in mercantile business. He soon after 
acquired an interest in the marble business, and founded the large industry 
now carried on by his sons. (See description of the marble industries of the 
town). In 1 86 1 he was elected president of the Rutland County National 
Bank, holding the office until his death in September, 1875 ; he was succeeded 
by his son William Y. W. Ripley. Fldward H. Ripley, another of his sons, is 
a prominent citizen of Rutland village. His daughter, Julia Caroline, is now 
the widow of Hon. Seneca M. Dorr and lives at the beautiful residence known 
as the " The Maples," just outside of the limits of Rutland village. Mrs. Dorr 
evinced literary talent of a high order early in her life. This was developed in 
later years until she has gained a reputation throughout the country as a poet- 
ess and novelist of the first rank. 

David Billings came into Shrewsbur\- from Sunderland, Mass., before 1800. 
His son, Benjamin ]5., was born in that town in 1801, and now lives in Mount 
Holly. His sons Benjamin, jr., and David C. are in the grocery trade in Rut- 



Town of Rutland. 337 



land. John S., Franklin, and Lorenzo, the other sons, hve in Mount Holly. 
Benjamin came to Rutland in 1856. 

Simeon Post came to Rutland before iSooand located about three miles 
north of the village. Levi Long lived a half mile from him and was then his 
nearest neighbor. Mr. Post died December II, 1841. His son, Alpha A., 
was born in Rutland, and died here April 13, 187 1. James E. Post, now a 
manufacturer of sewer pipe in Rutland, is a son of Alpha A. Post. 

John Cain, a native of the Isle of Man, came to America in 1832, and soon 
after to Rutland; he became prominent here as an architect and builder. His 
wife was Mary, daughter of Avery Billings. They had five children, William 
J., John, Avery B., Jewett P., and Mary. Mr. Cain was conspicuous in Demo- 
cratic politics. He died in Rutland in 1 880. (See biography in later pages 
of this work). 

The names of many others who have been instrumental in building up the 
psosperous manufacturing and mercantile interests of Rutland, or have shone 
in professional careers, will appear as we proceed. The long list of names 
which we have inserted with brief notes of the personages, although partaking 
of the character of mere biographic notes, will yet stand as indicative of the 
human elements and powers that have served to develop this town to its pres- 
ent position in the front rank of the communities of the State. The pioneers 
laid deep the foundations, and their descendants have builded upon them a 
structure which is entirely to their credit. 

Tozvn Records. — The recorded acts of the pioneers in any locality always 
bear a surpassing interest ; and fortunate is the town or county which has pre- 
served them from the beginning. This is not the case in the town of Rutland ; 
still the existing records extend back nearly to the first organization and pub- 
lic proceedings of the proprietors and town ofiicers. 

The first proprietors' meeting of which records are in existence was held 
on the second Tuesday of October, 1773 ; this must have been one of the 
earliest public meetings in the town, for it was but little more than three years 
after James Mead made his first settlement. It was at this meeting that a vote 
was passed adding Joseph Bowker to the committee to find the center of the 
town, as stated a few pages back. It was held in the meeting house, then re- 
cently erected on what was long known as " Meeting-house hill " at West Rut- 
land. At the same meeting it was " voted that there shall be a proprietors' 
Meeting held at the Dwelling House of James Mead in said Rutland on the 3d 
Wednesday of November next at 12 o'clock noon." 

On this occasion Nathan Tuttle was appointed moderator, and one of the 
first votes was " that the Proprietors come to another Division of Land of One 
Hundred acres of land to each Right." That they draw for their lots and for 
the pine timber land and that each proprietor, after having laid out his lot, 
" shall notify the Proprietor next to him by draught, where they have made 



History of Rutland County. 



their pitch." In that year the soutli Hue of the town was estabhshed. A vote 
was also passed " that there shall be a Highway laid through the Town on a 
line known by the name of Cockburn's line, lying 3 rods on each side of the 
Line and to begin at Joshua Raynals [Reynolds] Line, thence to Continue on 
said line till it Meets the south line of the town." 

It will readily be understood that the proceedings of those earliest meetings 
were generally very brief and on many occasions insignificant in character ; 
there were but thirty or forty families in town. As fast as they came their lots 
were assigned, they settled down, and for a number of years there was little 
public work to be done. This was particularly the case at that period when 
the anxieties caused by the prospect of the great struggle for freedom were 
uppermost, and during which the homes of the count)' were almost deserted. 
At the meeting held in 1775 it was voted " to lay out fifty acres to etch Rite," 
and that " we will begin to lay out by the first Munday of April next ; that 
one surveyor shall lay them all out, the drafts of the fifty acres pitches." 

Between the years 1775 and about 1780 there was little public business of 
importance transacted. Rutland county was not organized (until 1781), the 
town being a part of Bennington county, and almost every able-bodied man 
was under arms against the tyranny of the mother country. Civil progress 
was arrested and the land was filled with the troubled scenes of war. There 
was, however, more or less done in transferring lands by the proprietors, who 
had secured two hundred and fifty acres to each right, in the several divisions. 
While there was heroic pioneer work done in the town anterior and to some 
extent during the war of the Revolution, still the real progressive settlement 
and growth of the community did not set in until peace took up her gentle 
reign throughout the country. 

The town officers of 1780, as given in the earliest town meeting records 
now existing, were as follows : Town clerk, Joseph Hawley ; town treasurer, 
Joseph Bowker ; selectmen, Lieutenant Roswell Post, John Smith, 1st, Lieu- 
tenant Moses Hale, Captain Zebulon Mead and Reuben Harmon. These offi- 
cers took up the business of the town with commendable energy. Several 
highways of more or less consequence had already been laid out and others 
were projected. The work of establishing and opening roads has always oc- 
cupied a large share of the attention of pioneer officials ; compared with this 
feature of the early public work, the remainder was trifling. Roads were al- 
most the first necessity ; without them progress was impossible ; with them 
neighbors could communicate with each other and reach whatever business 
centers existed ; they could transport their household necessities to their homes 
and carry away the few surplus products that could be spared ; they could 
reach the outer and older parts of the country. In the proceedings of the 
meeting of 1 780 one of the first measures adopted was to approve of the action 
of the selectmen in laying out roads. A highway described as having been 



Town of Rutland. 339 



laid out b\' the selectmen in this year was as follows : " A highway 6 Rods 
wide in the Easterly part of the town Beginning at a Large Rock Standing near 
the Northeast corner of Mr. Reynolds Meadow west of the road, thence north- 
erly as the Road now goes from Clarendon to Pittsford, till its comes to where 
s'd road crosses East Creek, thence a northerly course continued and upon s'd 
road till it comes to the north line of Rutland." This highway was spoken of 
in early years as the Great Road. 

Another highway was thus described : " A Road in s'd town viz. : Begin- 
ning at Dennis Burghe's House, then running easterly on the town line till it 
comes to the Great Road, being two rods wiele the town Line being the north 
side of s'd Highway." 

The records of highways continue through a number of years, from one to 
a dozen being opened in each year. 

A vote was taken at the meeting of this year on the acceptance of a " bill 
from Mr. William Roberts of 2,000 feet of Boards which was Laid in the Meet- 
ing-house." Williams Roberts was one of the large land-holders of the town 
and bought and sold a large number of tracts, but we do not find his name 
among the town officers ; a fact accounted for, perhaps, by his having a pro- 
tracted suit with the town officials over the location of a certain highway ; for 
several years this contest was a source of much annoyance to the town. In 
1 78 1 Benjamin Whipple was empowered to " draw out of the town treasury 
money to assist him and those connected with him in carrying on his law suits 
against Wm. Roberts concerning a highway now in dispute." Roberts finally 
won his action, upon which thirteen of the prominent citizens protested that 
they would not pay " costs of court recovered at the Supreme Court," in the 
suit. The matter was finally settled in 1785 by Roberts relinquishing thirty- 
five pounds of the judgment recovered by him. At the meeting of 1780 an- 
other bill was accepted for the necessary charges of Benjamin Whipple, Ros- 
well Post and Gershom Beach for " attendance upon A late Convention," 
amounting to " 220 Continental Dollars." It was also "voted that the town 
will Build 2 pounds, namely, one Near Coll. Mead's House and the other on 
the Hill Near the East Side School-House." " Also made choice of a key- 
keeper for each pound, Namely, Coll. James Mead for one and Isaac Cushnian 
for the other." 

The ne.xt vote that engaged the attention of the meeting furnishes a quaint 
comment upon the manner of punishment for small offenders that found favor 
with the people of that day. It was " voted that the Selectmen Shall without 
Delay Erect Stocks and Whipping Post in some convenient Public Place." 
(See Chapter XVII.) 

The following list of freeholders of the town appears in the records for 
1780, and may be presumed to embrace all or nearly all of the male inhab- 
itants of any prominence in the town at that time, as well as some living in 
other localities : — 



340 History of Rutland County. 

Joseph Bowker, William Roberts, Reuben Harmon, Benjamin Whipple, 
James Mead, John Smith, Roswell Post, Gershom Beach, James Claghorn, 
Zebulon Mead, Silas Pratt, Benjamin Blanchard, John Forbes, Moses Hale, 
Daniel Squire, Jonathan Carpenter, Amasa Blanchard, Benjamin Johnson, 
Gideon Walker, Thomas Wright, John Smith, 2d, M. Whitney, David Haw- 
ley, Benedic Alford, Roswell Post, jr., Jehiel Nordway, Jonas Ives, Benajah 
Root, John Sutherland, Ebenezer Andrews, Abner Mead, Ezra Mead, Solo- 
man Purdee, Isaac Cushman, Rufus Delano, N. Whipple, Ebenezer Pratt, Asa 
Fuller, John Stevens, Nathaniel Blanchard, David Russell, Nathan Pratt, Sam- 
uel Williams, Thomas Hall, Gershom Beach, jr., Oliver Harmon, John Moses, 
John Johnson, William Post, Joseph Hawley, Henry Strong, Reuben Post, 
Zenas Ross, Thomas Lee, Gideon Minor, William Barr, Ichabod Tuttle, Joseph 
Lee, Nathaniel Sheldon, Phineas Kingsley, Jeremiah Dewey, Edward Waters, 
Phineas Spaulding, Asa Hale, David Whipple, Silas Pratt, jr., Grove Meeker, 
Timothy Boardman, Aaron Reed, John Daggett, Israel Harris, Daniel Reed, 
Josiah Hall, Soloman Beebe, Nathan Perry, Isaac Chatterton, Henry Mead, 
Alexander Beebe, Purchase Brown, Jude Moulthrop, Colburn Preston, Wait 
Chatterton, Hugh Barr, Aaron Parmelee, Jonah Moses, John Moses, jr., 
Thomas Moon, Allen Beebe, Christopher Bates, Nathaniel Gove, Reuben 
Pitcher, John Hitchcock, Amos Phelps, Ezekiel Beebe, Issacher Reed, John 
Austin, Jacob Ratts, Elias Munger, John Ramsdel, Samuel Murdock, John 
Claghorn, Joseph Porter, John Cook, Joel Roberts, Jared Watkins, Benajah G. 
Roots, Gabriel Cornish, Jabez Ward, John A. Graham, Elias Post, Samuel 
Campbell, jr., Ebenezer P. Tuttle, Joseph Clark, Lebeus Johnson, John Ketch- 
am, Joshua Pratt, David Strong, Jonathan Reynolds, Frederick Cushman, 
Simeon Wright, John Bissel, Elnathan Moses, Joel Post, Miles Baldwin, Clem- 
ent Blakesley, Ephraim Cheney, Isaac Jones, Daniel Hawkins, Nathan Os- 
good, William Hall, Adam Willis, James Button, Matthew Fowler, Samuel 
Prentice. 

The annual meeting for 1781 was appointed to be held at the meeting- 
house, but was adjourned to the "store house in Fort Rainger " (Ranger). 
This was the name of the fort erected at Center Rutland, as before described. 
The selectmen were Captain John Smith, ist, Captain John Smith, 2d, Colonel 
James Claghorn, John Johnson, and Moses Hale. Joseph Bowker was elected 
town treasurer ; John Forbes and Ebenezer Pratt, constables ; Isaac Cushman, 
John Johnson and Roswell Post, listers ; John Forbes and Ebenezer Pratt, col- 
lectors of rates; Gideon Minor and William Roberts, grand jurors ; Asa Fuller 
and Silas Pratt, leather sealers ; William Barr and David Kingsley, " tything- 
men " ; Henry Strong and Nehemiah Whipple, " haywards " ; Jeremiah Dewey 
and Aaron Miller, " horse branders." These quaint titles indicate that there 
were numerous officers deemed necessary in that early day that have safely 
been dispensed with since; not onl)' this, such a record is a cheerful comment 



Town of Rutland. 



upon the political situation in the last century, long before the unseemly scram- 
ble for office had begun, and when there were scarcely enough freeholders of 
real intelligence in the town to fill the offices, and a man possessed of marked 
administrative ability could have at least two offices, if he wanted them. 

It was at this meeting of March 17, that "the Articles of Union agreed 
upon Between the Committees of the Legislature of the State of Vermont and 
the Committee of the Convention of the New Hampshire Grants at Windsor in 
February, 1781," were accepted by vote. At the meeting held in June, of 
this year, the citizens " proceeded to e.xhibit their accounts as individuals 
against the town, which was read before the town and Each one objected 
ags't, upon which the town [inhabitants] mutually agreed to Relinquish all 
those Demands and Begin Anew in the World — Which was confirmed By 
Each Creditor signing a Receipt in full from the town." This was an act prob- 
ably without precedent at the time, and that has certainly seldom been repeat- 
ed since in any town. 

A good deal of attention was paid to religious matters in that year. Rev. 
Benajah Roots had, undoubtedly, ceased regular preaching before that time, 
and we find that at a meeting held in July it was " voted that Esq'r Bowker 
and Mr. Gid'n Minor Shall wait on Mr. Mitchell and thank him for his Labours 
for the town the last Sabbath." It was also voted " to apply to Mr. Mitchell 
to come to preach among us as soon as his Circumstances will Admit of it." 
A tax of one penny on the pound was voted " towards supporting the gospel 
among us." To this early and active interest in the spread of religion, coupled 
with a no less active interest in the cause of education, how much of the intel- 
ligence and morality that pervades all Vermont communities may be attrib- 
uted ? One of the meetings of this year was held at the house of John H. John- 
son, " inholder in s'd town " ; John Smith, 2d, was made moderator and it was 
voted " that Mr. Gid'n Minor, John Johnson and Joseph Bowker, esq., shall 
act as a Committee To indeavor to provide a preacher of the gospel for this 
town " ; and in December it was " voted to hire the Rev. Mr. Bell to preach 
in Rutland one 3d part of the present winter." A wholesome restraint was 
placed upon the millers of the town (although, let us hope, it was not neces- 
sary), by a vote " that all Millers in this town that takes more Toll than the 
law Directs, that the town will assist the authority in prosecuting the same 
to effect." 

In the land transfers of this year appear the names of David Hawley, David 
Parkhill, Asa Edmunds, Daniel Squires, Miles Baldwin, Thomas Lee, Samuel 
Beach, Jonathan Carpenter, Samuel Campbell, Eli Brown, Jared Watkins, 
Reuben Sackett, and some others, of whom little else now remains of their 
memory. 

The records describe the town boundaries as follows : " Beginning at the 
northwesterly corner of Shrewsbury, thence north 4 deg., east 5^- miles ; thence 



342 History of Rutland County. 

west 40 deg. north (north 86 deg. west), 7^ miles ; thence south 4 deg. east 
5-5- miles to the northwesterly corner of Clarendon ; thence east 4 deg. south 
(south 86 deg. east) 6f miles on the line of Clarendon to the first bound." 
These boundaries are more definitely described in a later page. 

The meeting of 1782 was held at the house of James Mead. The officers 
were: Town clerk, Joseph Hawley ; town treasurer, Joseph Bowker ; select- 
men, Joseph Bowker, Benjamin Whipple, Roswell Post, James Mead and 
Thomas Lee. At the meeting of June 19, it was " voted that Colonel James 
Mead shall Repair the old meeting house and Charge the Town for the same." 
In November it was " voted that the Selectmen shall go and view and Deter- 
mine where the road shall go from the Great Bridge crossing Otter Creek to 
Clarendon line leading towards Joseph Smith's." Captain John Smith, ist, 
and his son John, with Samuel Williams, were directed to assist in the work. 
Some of the highways laid out were not satisfactory to the people ; a fact that 
is not strange when the difficulties attending the proper laying out of a high- 
way in a wilderness is considered, with the limited facilities then in existence. 
As an example of dissatisfaction with a road, it was voted in December of this 
year " to not accept a Road Running from the Road by Colonel Mead's to 
Benjamin Whipple's Hogpen." If Whipple's hogpen was the real destination 
and end of this highway, it is scarcely to be wondered at that it gave dissatis- 
faction. The building of bridges over streams in the town was of little less 
importance in early times than the opening of roads. The bridge across Otter 
Creek near James Mead's we have alluded to ; it was built in 1776. At the 
meeting of July 29, 1783, we find that it was voted "to Build 2 bridges across 
East Creek, one at or near the fordway near Lieutenant Hale's and the other 
Between Jonathan Carpenter's and Mr. Beach's." A tax of one-half penny on 
the pound on the list of 1783 "to be paid in labour, grain, beef, pork or 
plank," was voted to pay for these bridges. At the annual meeting of this 
year the selectmen were made a committee to divide the town into school 
districts and it was voted " that the selectmen shall erect stocks near the Meet- 
ing House." It was in this year, also, that the inhabitants saw the desirability 
of having a better house of worship, and in September a vote was passed " to 
Erect a Meeting House Near where the Old Meeting House now stands, as 
shall be agreed upon." 

A convention was held in 1783 for the consideration of the new county. 
There seems to have been a difference of opinion among the various towns as 
to the number of towns to be included in the county, and at the meeting of Oc- 
tober Rutland refused by vote " to comply with the Resolves of a convention 
lately convened on county affairs : Concerning the number of Towns to be in- 
cluded in the county." The meeting also voted to " comply with the resolves 
of the afore-mentioned Convention concerning the place for the Court House 
and Jail." The officers for 1783 were: Town clerk, Joseph Hawley; treas- 



Town of Rutland. 343 

11 icr, Joseph Bowker ; selectmen, Benjamin Wliipple, Thomas Lee, Jona Car- 
penter, John Johnson and Samuel Williams. 

For the year 1784 the following officers were elected : Town clerks, Joseph 
Hawley and Timothy Boardman ; treasurers, Joseph Bowker and Asa Hale ; 
selectmen, Captain Z. Mead, Captain Israel Harris, Ensign John Johnson, 
Samuel Williams and i\Ioses Hale. The most important action of the author- 
ities this year is indicated by the following in the proceedings of the May 
meeting: " Voted that Ensign John Johnson and Mr. Benjamin Blanchard be 
Committee to treat with Colonel James Mead with Respect to ground for a 
Burying yard and get a Deed of it." This action resulted in the procuring of 
the ground now embraced in the old burial lot at Center Rutland, where many 
of the fathers and mothers of Rutland sleep — too many of them in unmarked 
graves. 

It is manifestly impossible for us to follow in detail the action of the town 
authorities from year to year ; nor would such a record bear much of real in- 
terest, except the settlement of an occasional question or the passage of a 
measure of importance. As for example, upon the question of the division of 
the town into two parishes (or societies, as they termed it), which came up in 
1788. The people of Rutland voted on this subject that " Samuel Campbell 
be agent to oppose the Division of the town of Rutland into two societies, be- 
fore the General Assembly at the next adjourned session at Bennington, and 
John Johnson, Timothy Boardman and Andrew Crocker be a committee to 
draw a remonstrance or Petition for the agent to lay before the House of 
General Assembly." In spite of this action, however, the town was divided 
in October of that year. 

The inhabitants had already accumulated considerable live stock and saw 
the necessity of so branding animals that the property of the various owners 
should not be lost. As early as 1784 we find the following as an e.xample of 
so-called " ear-marks," adopted in the towns: John Smith recorded his ear- 
mark as " a Half crop the under side the Left Ear." 

" Samuel Williams' Ear-Mark is A Crop off from the Left Ear." 
"Asa Fuller's Ear-Mark is a half Fenny on the upper side of the left Ear." 
" Thomas Hale's Ear-Mark is a Hole in the Right Ear." 
" Lieutenant Roswell Post's ear-mark is A Swallows Tail in the Right ear 
and a Halfpenny the under side of Left Ear." 

" John Johnson's ear-mark is a slit in end of Right Ear and half Penny the 
upper side of the same." 

Many of the ear-marks stand on the records as simply rude drawings with 
the owner's name attached. The necessity for these brands is shown in the great 
number of "strays " that are described in the records. As early as 1781 we 
find that Lieutenant " Moses Hale of s'd Rutland, took up A Stray Heifer 
supposed to be two years old, With A Crop on the Left Ear, the Colour be- 
ing a Mixture of Red and White, of which the owner is not known." 



344 History of Rutland County. 

February 20, 1782, " Found Between Coll. James Mead's and Lieut. John 
Sutherland's mills on the Bank of Otter Creek by David Buckland of Neshoba, 
a common fox steel trap which was hanging to his Dog's leg of which the 
owner is not known." This entry indicates both the honesty of the finder and 
the prevailing custom of placing on the town records the various announce- 
ments for the public at a time when newspapers were scarce. 

In September, 1784, it is stated that there was " taken up by Silas Pratt a 
dark Rone Mare about 7 years old. No brand, a starr in her forehead, a dark 
mane and Tail a shoe on one fore foot about 14 hand high Trotts and Paces of 
which the owner is not known." 

The meeting held in June, 1789, was one of considerable importance through 
the adoption of one measure intimately connected with the final adjustment of 
the land lines in the town. Briefly stated, a preamble was presented at the 
meeting setting forth in substance, that on account of the loss of the early 
records, it was found impossible to lay out lots so as to do justice to all of the 
settlers in the town ; therefore it was resolved that twenty rights or shares of 
land be laid out together in the northwest corner of the town, viz.: The orig- 
inal rights of Benjamin Melvin, Ephraim Adams, Oliver Colburn, Elijah Mitch- 
ell, Thomas Blanchard, Joseph Case, John Hine, John Dandly, Thomas Dain, 
Reuben Nimbs, Nathaniel Foster, Nehemiah Houghton, Josiah Willard, jr., 
Abraham Scott, Joseph Hammond, Michael Medcalf, Sampson Willard, Solo- 
mon Willard, Prentice Willard, Samuel Wettimore, " being their equal shares 
in the town except their rights in the town platts." 

It was further voted that fifteen rights be laid out together, viz.: The orig- 
inal rights of John Murry, Caleb Johnson, Nathan Stone, Wing Spooner, Joel 
Stone, Samuel Stone, jr., Abner Stone, Samuel Stone, Enos Stevens, 
Susanna Johnson, Elizabeth Stevens, Joseph Willard and Aaron Willard ; the 
boundaries of this tract are as follows: " Beginning at the southeast corner of 
the 20 rights, then running south 86 deg. east 856 rods 20 links to or near the 
Governor's Lot, then north 4 deg. east, 1013 rods, 18 links, thence north, 86 
deg. west, 856 rods 21 links to the northeast corner of the 20 rights, thence 
south 4 deg. west, 1013 rods 18 links to the beginning." 

It was further voted that five rights or shares be laid out together, viz: 
The original rights of Elijah Hinsdell, Samuel Stevens, Joseph Ashley, jr., 
Moses Field and Joseph Ashley, 1 the boundaries of which were as follows : 
" Beginning at the northeast corner of the I 5 rights, thence north 4 deg. east, 
357 rods 2 links, thence north 86 deg. west, 856 rods 21 links ; thence south, 
4 deg. west, 357 rods and 2 links; thence south 86 deg. east, S56 rods 21 
links, to the place of beginning." 

It was further " voted that Timothy Boardman, William Post, Thomas Lee, 
Samuel Campbell and Col. Claghorn be a committee to lay out 200 acres of 

1 In the spelling of the names mentioned in these records we follow the writer thereof. 




^^^^^^;^^^^ 



Town of Rutland. 345 



land, with an addition of 6 acres to each 100 acres for an allowance of 
highways, to the original rights of all in the charter of the town of Rutland 
whose names are not inserted in the above votes, including all the public 
rights, and also to run the outlines of the above 20, 15 and 5 rights and 
make proper and legal surveys of all lands so laid out and make a retiu'n of 
their doing at the next meeting." 

Under this action, there were the three separate divisions made ; the first 
one into lots of two hundred acres each ; the second of one hundred and the 
third of fifty acres. Hence we find that at a meeting held in 1790 it was voted 
that a tax " of one pound be lade on each Right of land belonging to the Pro- 
prietors of Rutland, public Rights excepted, to defray the charges that have 
arisen for loting [lotting] out two Divisions, the first 200 acres and the 2d 100 
acres to each right, and for making a plan of said survey and other incidental 
charges." Although the third division to which we have alluded is not men- 
tioned in this vote, it was subsequently made. At several of the meetings, be- 
ginning in 1790 the proceedings consisted of almost nothing else than the vot- 
ing of lands under these divisions, thus conferring or renewing titles. The lots 
laid out under this survey are shown on the old parchment map on file in the 
town clerk's office at Rutland, and from which a large share of the names are 
obliterated. It is probable that the first map was made on paper by Joel Rob- 
erts, as in November, 1790, a vote was passed that " Joel Roberts be allowed 
one pound ten shillings for assisting in completing the plan of Rutland." Thomas 
Rowley made the survey, which was not entirely finished until 1792; for his 
service or a part of it (for it seems impossible so small a sum. would have fully 
paid him), he was voted one pound, thirteen shillings and six pence In the 
same year (1792) Joel Roberts, Asa Hale and Jared Watkins were made " pro- 
prietors' agents to take cair of the undivided lands that belong to the pro- 
prietors of Rutland, to see that the lumber is not Distroyed or carried away and 
to prosecute those who trespass according to law." In the voting of lands to 
the proprietors under these divisions, it was almost the invariable rule to vote 
the lots to each person where he had already made his settlement. Where the 
original settler had died, his heirs were voted the land ; such was the case 
with Nathan Tuttle's lot. The undivided lands of the town were ordered laid 
out in 1793, Simeon Wright, Nathan Pratt, and William Mead being appointed 
to perform the work ; James Mead and Joel Roberts were subsequently added 
to the committee, whose instructions were to ascertain how much of the land 
remained and apportion it for the best interests of those concerned. 

By the year 1794 settlement had so far progressed and stock accumulated 
that it was deemed necessary to order that sheep and swine should not be per- 
mitted to run at large. Bridges had been built at Sutherland Falls and Reyn- 
old's Mill and these were ordered repaired, if needed. One hundred and twenty- 
five pounds of powder, three hundred and fifty-four of lead and four hundred 



346 History of Rutland County. 

and fifty flints were also ordered purchased ; indicating that the vvarHke spirit 
engendered by the Revolution was still abroad. 

In 1795, among other things, the main road in the east parish was ordered 
examined and incumbrances removed ; the inhabitants to be given time to re- 
move fences and buildings. 

In 1797 the "stage or post road leading from the court-house to Vergennes" 
was surveyed. 

In 1798 it was "voted that the selectmen agree with Frederick Hill, esq., 
to make an exact copy of the plan of the Town on parchment." This was the 
parchment chart now on file in the clerk's office, to which reference has already 
been made. Mr. Hill was postmaster of Rutland a number of years. 

In 1799 it was " voted that the town and freemen's meetings be held alter- 
nately hereafter at the Court- House in the East Parish and at the Meeting- 
house in the West Parish." It was also voted that " no Horse, Mule or horse 
kind shall be permitted to run at Large on any common land or Publick high- 
way for the year ensuing." In the first year of the century the general cause 
of harmony was promoted by a vote " that the sum of one hundred dollars be 
paid out of the Town Treasury to pay for the encouragement of singing " — a 
measure which is, perhaps, unparalleled. 

General History. — We need not further trace the records of the various 
meetings held in the town for the transaction of public business ; whatever is 
noted therein of importance will appear as we progress. Eight years before the 
record from which we last quoted was made, the first number of the first news- 
paper in Rutland made its appearance. It was issued in the year 1792, and 
named the Heralei of Vermont ; or, Rutland Courier. This title was out of all 
proportion to the size of the paper. It was published by Anthony Haswell. 
This sheet lived but three months ; but on the 8th of December, 1794, the first 
number of the Rutland Herald came from the press, and its legitimate successor 
is still published in Rutland village. This was an event of more than ordinary 
importance in that early period ; the publication of a first newspaper is an 
event of more importance in any locality than is often attributed to it, for a 
host of reasons into which we need not enter. A full account of this long-lived 
journal has been given in the chapter devoted to the press of the county ; but 
some mention of its contents in early years cannot fail to interest. A list of 
letters advertised in January, 1795, gives the names of Timothy Boardman, 
Benjamin Blancherd, Rutland ; Thomas Hammond, Miss Mary Hammond, 
Pittsford ; Abel Spencer, Clarendon ; General Isaac Clark, William Wood- 
ward, Castleton ; Eber Murray, Orwell ; Bela Farnham, Leicester. Fred. Hill 
was postmaster of Rutland. 

It was a common occurrence in those days to advertise for runaway boys. 
Apprentices were bound out for lengthy periods and their surroundings were 
either less happy than those of tradesmen at the present day, or else more at- 



Town of Rutland. 347 



tention was paid to their breaking their apprenticeship bonds; probably both. 
The rewards offered were commonl}' of no account and intended to throw ridicule 
upon the offender. For example, in March, 1795, Isaac Hill of Mount Holly, 
advertised a runaway boy and offerred "one peck of ashes" for his apprehen- 
sion. This is a fair sample of scores of similar announcements. On the 1st 
of April there were letters remaining in the Rutland post-office for William 
Barnes, Samuel Buell, Matthew Fenton and Phineas Kingsley. William 
Barnes lived in the north part of the town where Edgar Davis now lives, and 
died in 1865 at the age of seventy-three years, and the man of the same name 
for whom the letter was held was his father, who died in 1824, aged seventy- 
one. 

Phineas Kingsley came here from Beckett, Mass., in 1773 and settled on 
the place where the Osgood famil}- noiv reside. In the Revolutionary War 
some of his relatives brought their families to Rutland from Sudbury, for 
greater safety, and persuaded Mr. Kingsley to take them to Massachusetts. 
He afterward returned to Rutland and died here. The late Gershom C. Rug- 
gles was a grandson of Mr. Kingsley. 

The method of circulating newspapers at that period is shown in the an- 
nouncement of Abraham Sprague, made in January, 1796, wherein he stated 
that he had engaged to ride from the printing-office in Rutland through Ira, 
Castleton, Fairhaven, Westhaven, Benson and Orwell, adding, "he will set out 
every MORNING," and carry papers to subscribers. This route was soon after 
taken by Oren Kelsey. Simeon Lester was carrying the mail in tliat year from 
Rutland to Albany. 

Meanwhile the little village (if it can be thus designated), along the main 
street of Rutland, was growing and before the beginning of the century had 
assumed considerable importance, as will be detailed in the subsequent munici- 
pal liistory. 

In the year 1802-3 there was considerable danger in this locality from the 
approach of small-pox, and the selectmen took action to secure the " innocu- 
lation " of the inhabitants. At the meeting of April ist, 1803, it was voted, 
in substance, that the selectmen be authorized to license one or more houses, 
(under the act to prevent the spreading of the small-pox) " for the purpose of 
innoculating persons for the small-pox until the 20th day of April instant, at 
which time innoculation shall cease until the first day of September next, when 
the said selectmen . . . shall be again authorized to license such house 
or houses as they may think proper until the ist day of April next, under such 
regulations as they ma)' think necessary and proper," etc. 

Major Gershom Cheney, whose settlement here has been described, kept a 
diary from the year 1793 to 1828, with some brief intermissions, which is now 
in possession of Lyman S. Cheney, of Rutland, and has been kindly loaned us. 
While there are few entries bearing sufficient general interest to warrant their 



348 History of Rutland County. 

publication in these pages, there are still several references to important occur- 
rences which, coming down through the years with the stamp of absolute cer- 
tainty on their face, are of deep interest to the reader of to-day. The first en- 
try in the little book is as follows : " Moved from Londonderry, N. H., to Rut- 
land in the spring of 1793." Then follows an interval often years in which 
only some private memoranda were made. The winter of 1803-4 is charac- 
terized by the writer as "a dredful hard winter," while that of 1811-12 was 
" harder than that of 1 803-4. Hay at twenty dollars per ton ; " and the next 
winter is noted as "dredful sickley ; the following persons died in Rutland: 
Jonathan Wells, esq., died January 18; Esq'r Mathew Fintin [Fenton] and 
wife 24th do ; March 1st, Henry Reynolds died ; i8th do.. Mason Hatch died ; 
29th, Sally Jane Cheney; 30th, Lewis Meacham ; 31st, Benjamin Cheney 
died ; " Daniel McGregor and wife died also in March. This disease which 
proved so fatal was a spotted or lung fever. 

It will be remembered that in the year 181 i occurred the most disastrous 
flood in the history of the county ; it is but barely mentioned in Mr. Cheney's 
diary, but it carried away three-fourths, or more, of the mills and bridges in 
this town and was even more disastrous in other localities. The freshet oc- 
curred in July, and its effects are noted in the town histories of those sections 
where it wrought the most havoc. The day of the flood opened bright and 
clear; but about nine in the forenoon black clouds arose in the west, and the 
rain fell in torrents the greater part of the day. The greatest destruction en- 
sued, perhaps, in the towns of Middletown and Tinmouth, to the histories of 
which the reader is referred. 

On the 2ist of August, 1813, Mr. Cheney noted in his diary that " Benja- 
min Cheney got home from the army at Burlington," which shows that the 
inhabitants of the county had not forgotten tlieir old spirit of patriotism and 
were as ready to relieve their free institutions from oppression as they were in 
Revolutionary days to win them, even at the muzzle of the musket. In the 
same month Major Cheney, as the diary informs, " left off keeping tavern, after 
keeping eleven years." This tavern was located halfway between Rutland 
and Pittsford, and was very popular with travelers from Vergennes to Boston. 
In the same year appears in the diary the following quaint counsel : " When 
you run a nale in your foot put on Beefs gall or burn black greased wool and 
steam your foot and bind on the cinders, or put on a poltis of wheat Brand and 
Vinegar, sum one of the above will cure your foot." 

Under date of December 3d, 1813, is this entry: " At night David Oli- 
ver's house was burnt and five of his black children all to a crisp." 

Relative to the murder of Joseph Green he wrote under